Chapter 15 - Richard Sterling Makes an Unexpected Confession
Richard Sterling called Lawson forty-eight hours after Victor agreed to provide a formal statement.
He sounded frightened.
That alone was extraordinary.
The man who'd smirked while offering us eighty thousand dollars at our father's funeral now wanted an urgent meeting.
Without Julian.
Without the company's legal team.
Without his family's representatives.
Lawson arranged for Richard to meet with independent counsel present.
Eric didn't trust him.
Neither did I.
But I wanted to hear what he had to say.
Richard arrived wearing an ordinary dark sweater.
No expensive leather folder.
No arrogant smile.
He looked as though he hadn't slept in a week.
"I didn't know about the original patent fraud," he began.
Eric folded his arms.
"Convenient."
Richard accepted the remark.
"I knew about some of the later financial transfers."
I leaned forward.
"Which ones?"
He swallowed.
"The consulting arrangements. Certain lease agreements. My father told me they were legitimate tax and financing structures."
"And you believed him?"
"For longer than I should have."
He stared at his hands.
"When Arthur became ill, my father began preparing the buyout."
"We know."
"He told me Arthur had agreed in principle."
I felt my jaw tighten.
"That's why you brought a check to his funeral?"
Richard closed his eyes.
"Yes."
"An eighty-thousand-dollar check?"
He nodded.
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I asked:
"Did you know it was insulting?"
"Yes."
"Then why did you do it?"
Richard looked up.
"Because my father told me the Bennetts were going to destroy everything we'd built."
Eric laughed bitterly.
"Everything you'd built?"
Richard said nothing.
After a moment, he removed a folder from his bag.
"I brought this because I need to correct my earlier statement."
Inside were copies of internal correspondence concerning the contested cross-purchase agreement.
One email showed Julian directing Richard to obtain Arthur's signature during a period of intensive medical treatment.
Another referred to using an earlier signature page if the latest version couldn't be completed.
Lawson read the documents carefully.
"Are you saying the final agreement was improperly assembled?"
Richard nodded.
"I never saw Arthur sign the completed version."
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
"You filed it anyway?"
"My father told me the authorization was valid."
"Did you verify that?"
Richard shook his head.
For the first time, I saw something resembling shame on his face.
He explained that the ongoing investigation had uncovered further documents he hadn't previously seen.
Some indicated that Julian had been preparing the disputed buyout long before Arthur's final hospitalization.
Others showed that Richard's own corporate authority had been exaggerated in representations made to the board.
"My father told me I would inherit the company."
Eric looked at him.
"And now?"
Richard gave a humorless laugh.
"Now I'm discovering I was useful until I started asking questions."
He slid another document across the table.
It was an internal memorandum concerning Warehouse Nine.
Attached was an old payment schedule.
One recipient had been listed under a confidential consulting designation.
Victor Hale.
I frowned.
"Your father paid Victor?"
Richard shook his head.
"Look at the account number."
Lawson examined it.
Then his expression changed.
The payments had been routed to an account that Victor later testified he had never controlled.
The entry appeared to have been used to implicate him in the missing funds.
"Someone was manufacturing a financial trail," Lawson said.
Richard nodded.
"I think my father intended Victor to take the blame if the original transactions were discovered."
I leaned back.
It was worse than I'd imagined.
The man who had allegedly destroyed our grandfather's livelihood had also arranged for another family's father to disappear beneath a cloud of suspicion.
Richard spoke again.
"I've agreed to provide records to the investigators."
"Why?" Eric demanded.
Richard's eyes filled unexpectedly.
"Because I have a daughter."
Nobody spoke.
"She's twelve," he continued. "Last night, she asked me whether everything on the news about Grandpa was true."
He swallowed.
"I realized I was becoming the kind of father who would make her spend the rest of her life defending things she knew were wrong."
I studied him.
I wasn't ready to forgive him.
Perhaps I never would be.
But there was a difference between forgiveness and accepting truthful testimony.
Lawson collected the documents.
"Richard, you'll need to provide these through the appropriate legal process."
"I know."
As he stood to leave, he looked at Eric.
"Your father came to see me privately six weeks before he died."
My brother stiffened.
"Why?"
"He asked whether I understood what the disputed buyout would do to the employees."
"What did you say?"
Richard looked ashamed.
"I told him business wasn't personal."
He paused.
"Arthur said, 'That's what people say when they want permission to hurt someone without looking them in the eye.'"
My throat tightened.
Richard left without another word.
That evening, Lawson called.
The preserved records, Victor's statement, and Richard's new disclosures had significantly strengthened the case.
May you like
The next hearing was approaching.
For the first time, Julian Sterling would have to answer questions he couldn't dismiss with a polished smile.
