Chapter 13 - The Press Conference
Evelyn hated the idea.
“Litigation is not television.”
“I know.”
“Public statements can hurt us.”
“I know.”
“You’re saying that while clearly planning to ignore me.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn sighed.
“Fine. Then we do it carefully.”
The next afternoon, Nia stood outside a community legal center.
She wore the same cream blouse from the morning Micah had brought breakfast.
Not intentionally.
She noticed only while waiting.
Reporters gathered.
Marcus stayed inside.
“This is your story,” he said.
Not ours.
Not mine.
Yours.
Nia appreciated that.
Evelyn spoke first.
Then Nia stepped toward the microphones.
“My mother said yesterday that this is a family disagreement.”
Cameras clicked.
“It isn’t.”
She held no papers.
No dramatic props.
“I recently learned that a loan exceeding two hundred thousand dollars was taken against my home using a power of attorney I did not understand would be used for that purpose.”
Reporters murmured.
“I also learned multiple Carter Community Services employees received less compensation than their recorded hours.”
A reporter shouted:
“How many?”
“The review is ongoing.”
“Did your mother steal the money?”
Evelyn stiffened.
Nia answered carefully.
“I am not going to determine criminal guilt at a microphone.”
Good.
Evelyn visibly relaxed.
“But I will say this.”
Nia looked directly at the cameras.
“Family loyalty does not mean silence when people are being harmed.”
The phrase belonged to Robert.
Nia felt him beside her.
A reporter asked:
“Are you trying to take control of Carter Community Services?”
“I am trying to determine who lawfully owns it.”
Another voice:
“Do you claim majority ownership?”
“I have documentary evidence showing my grandmother intended that.”
The story exploded online.
By evening, Denise’s interview no longer looked sympathetic.
Former employees began posting old payroll complaints.
A retired accountant wrote that she had quit after being pressured to “smooth temporary discrepancies.”
Then someone uploaded a photograph of Denise leaving Harbor National carrying the document pouch.
Caption:
NOTHING TO HIDE?
Nia stared at it.
“Who took that?”
Marcus shrugged.
“Internet.”
Her phone rang.
Andre.
“You just destroyed us.”
Nia answered:
“No.”
“Our county contract suspended renewals.”
“Because employees were underpaid.”
“The bank reduced our credit line.”
“Because you moved money.”
Andre shouted:
“Three hundred people depend on our services!”
“Then why did you gamble with the company?”
Silence.
Nia immediately regretted the word gamble.
Not because it was inaccurate.
Because it sounded cruel.
Andre’s voice changed.
“I was twenty-four.”
“So was I once.”
“You were perfect.”
“No.”
“You were Grandma’s favorite.”
“That wasn’t my fault.”
“Everything was always Nia.”
His bitterness startled her.
“Grandma trusted Nia.”
“Dad taught Nia.”
“Mom said Nia would fix it.”
Nia went still.
“What?”
Andre realized he had revealed too much.
“What did Mom say I would fix?”
“Nothing.”
“Andre.”
He hung up.
That night, Nia drove to Denise’s house.
Marcus objected.
Evelyn objected more strongly.
Nia went anyway.
Denise opened the door but did not invite her inside.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“What was I supposed to fix?”
Denise’s expression changed.
“Andre said you always told him I would fix it.”
“He’s emotional.”
“Answer me.”
Denise looked exhausted.
For once, her home was messy.
Papers covered the dining room.
Phones rang unanswered.
“You were supposed to inherit control,” Denise said.
Nia’s breath caught.
“You knew about Grandma’s amendment.”
“Yes.”
The admission came so easily Nia almost missed it.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“And you hid it.”
“I prevented a disaster.”
“By stealing my ownership?”
“By preventing you from giving control to Marcus.”
“This was before Marcus and I had problems.”
“He was already asking questions.”
“Because Dad asked him to.”
“Exactly.”
Denise’s voice sharpened.
“Your father trusted that man more than his own son.”
Nia saw it.
The old resentment.
Not just money.
Humiliation.
Robert had turned outside the family for truth.
Denise had never forgiven him.
“What was I supposed to fix?”
Denise looked at her.
“The company.”
“How?”
“You were good with numbers.”
“You stole from workers and expected me to clean it?”
“I expected you to stabilize operations after I had time to correct the books.”
“When?”
Denise’s eyes filled.
“Eventually.”
There it was again.
Nia laughed sadly.
“You built an entire life around eventually.”
Denise’s mouth trembled.
“You think I enjoyed any of this?”
“I think you enjoyed control.”
“I carried everyone!”
“You carried Andre.”
“He was drowning.”
“So you tied weights to everybody else.”
Denise slapped the table.
“He was my son!”
“And I was your daughter!”
Silence.
The sentence seemed to shock Denise.
Nia’s voice broke.
“When did I stop counting?”
Denise stared at her.
“You never stopped.”
“Then why was my house collateral?”
“Because you were strong.”
Nia recoiled.
Denise continued desperately.
“You always landed on your feet.”
“So you punished me for surviving.”
“No.”
“You fed everybody from my plate because you assumed I could stay hungry.”
Denise went still.
The metaphor hung between them.
Nia thought of Micah.
She whispered:
“My six-year-old noticed.”
Denise looked away.
“He noticed what you never did.”
“Nia.”
“That I was running out.”
She turned to leave.
Denise called after her.
“Your father wasn’t innocent.”
Nia stopped.
“What does that mean?”
Denise’s face hardened again.
“He knew about the loan structure.”
“What loan?”
“Not yours.”
Nia turned.
“What did Dad do?”
Denise smiled bitterly.
“He created Harbor Point.”
Nia stared.
“No.”
“Ask Marcus.”
“He didn’t know.”
“Ask Loretta.”
Nia’s heart sank.
Denise continued:
“Your father built the structure everyone is calling theft.”
Nia whispered:
“Why?”
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Denise answered:
“Because Carter Community was never entirely ours.”
