Chapter 12
Tove agreed to a formal meeting because the engagement ring was still legally hers and several personal-property issues remained unresolved.
Chase attended because the foundation investigation now threatened his company.
Margaret came only after Cullen asked.
She sat farther from him than anyone else.
Cullen noticed.
Tove noticed too.
“You finally got what you wanted,” Tove said to Margaret.
Margaret did not respond.
Tove turned toward Cullen.
“Your mother never wanted me here.”
“That doesn't explain the inhaler.”
“I thought Mireya was panicking.”
“You had attended her pulmonology appointments.”
“I knew she had asthma.”
“Then why stop treatment?”
Tove’s composure slipped.
“Because every cough became a production.”
Margaret leaned forward.
“She was three.”
“I know how old she was.”
Tove's voice sharpened.
“No one in that house ever let me forget she came before me.”
Cullen stared at her.
There it was.
Not a financial motive.
An emotional one.
Tove wanted the position of Cullen’s wife without living under Margaret’s judgment or Mireya’s needs.
Chase interrupted.
“My sister didn’t create this alone.”
He looked at Margaret.
“You threatened my business.”
“I questioned a bad deal.”
“You knew what would happen if the foundation rejected it.”
Margaret’s expression changed.
Cullen caught it.
“What would happen?”
Chase leaned back.
“My company was already carrying debt from two projects.”
Tove looked at him sharply.
“Chase.”
He ignored her.
“The foundation guarantee would’ve stabilized us.”
Cullen understood.
Chase needed Margaret removed from influence.
Tove needed Margaret removed from the home.
Their motives aligned.
Mireya’s asthma gave them the same tool.
Tove looked toward Cullen.
“I never wanted her seriously hurt.”
Cullen responded quietly.
“You just needed my mother to look crazy before anyone believed her.”
Tove’s eyes filled.
She did not deny it.
That silence changed the room.
Margaret stood.
“I’m done.”
Cullen looked at her.
She shook her head.
“Not with the evidence.”
She looked at Tove.
“With giving people chances to explain cruelty into something smaller.”
May you like
Then she left.
For the first time, Tove looked less afraid of Cullen than of what Margaret might finally be willing to say publicly.
