Ada had objected.

Lucinda did not know whether the policy was ever adopted, but she gave me a date and names of two people who had attended the meeting.

My attorney checked the information.

One meeting record was recoverable, though it did not prove anything about my particular agreement.

Still, it helped explain a pattern: the family’s business routines often treated the talent of relatives and spouses as assets that belonged to the company by default.

I called Nathaniel that evening.