Meredith was quiet as she read Adrian’s statement.

“The entire time Dad was worrying about payroll, somebody was preparing to take the company if he missed a payment.”

She looked at me.

“Was the marriage part of their leverage?”

I wished I could offer a clean answer.

Instead, I told her what we knew and what we did not.

Vivian had blocked our letters and pressed the board to keep the marriage impersonal.

Whether she and Colin intended that emotional separation to facilitate the financial scheme remained an issue for investigators.