His office overlooked downtown Raleigh, and his legal pads were always filled with compact, orderly handwriting. During our first meeting, he asked what I wanted.

“My children,” I said. “My house. And the truth about what that family has been doing to us.”

By then, a quiet suspicion had begun to form. Something beneath Finanella and Willamina’s contempt went past jealousy or resentment over social status.

I suspected money was involved. I was right. I simply had no idea how deep it went, or how long uncovering it would take.

Chapter 7 — What the Records Revealed

Barnaby found the first evidence in the financial disclosures required for the divorce. Over the previous four years, more than sixty thousand dollars had left our joint household account through small, irregular transfers.

No single payment was large enough to draw attention. They were scattered across different months and labeled to resemble ordinary household charges. Because Grantham had managed most of our banking while my work kept me traveling, I had never noticed them.