Paying three hundred thousand dollars of debt before being ordered out of the house
Before the elevator doors could open, a heavy step sounded behind us on the carpet.
Arthur Webb stood there, his hands still buried deep in his trousers pockets, his shoulders hunched forward. He looked smaller than he had during the meeting, his gray suit hanging loosely on his frame.
“Clare,” Arthur mumbled, looking down at his shoes before raising his eyes to mine. “A moment, please.”
David looked at me, waiting for a signal. I nodded, and David walked ahead to the elevator lobby, leaving us in the quiet corridor.
“I want you to know,” Arthur said, his voice low and gravelly, “that I only agreed to the transfer because I wanted to protect my son from bankruptcy. I did not realize what Marcus was planning regarding the divorce.”
He took his right hand out of his pocket and rubbed his forehead, leaving a faint red mark against his pale skin before shoving his hand back into his trousers.
“You knew about the ninety thousand dollars,” I said, my voice measured. “You knew he used my money to pay a personal retainer for a divorce attorney while I was working sixteen hours a day to clear his corporate guarantees.”
