Chapter 6 - James Claims He Trusted Victoria Completely
Uncle James joined the investigation voluntarily.
He was sixty-six and had chaired the trust committee for eight years.
He denied participating in any scheme to discredit Emma.
Arthur’s video did not show him.
Messages on Chloe’s phone did not mention him.
But James had approved the reserve payments.
His explanation was simple.
“I trusted Victoria.”
Nathan laughed without humor.
“You approved millions because you trusted my mother?”
James looked ashamed.
“Yes.”
He said Victoria handled family expenses for decades.
The committee treated her requests as routine.
That habit outlived Nathan’s father.
No one asked for detailed support.
Emma understood the deeper problem.
The family had built governance around loyalty.
Not verification.
James did not appear to have received money personally.
That mattered.
He had failed as a trustee.
But failure was not automatically theft.
Nathan’s legal team separated those issues carefully.
James resigned from the committee pending review.
Victoria refused to cooperate.
Then Rebecca found an email from Victoria to Marianne.
The subject line read:
BEFORE NATHAN MARRIES.
The body contained one sentence.
WE NEED EVERYTHING CLEAN BEFORE HE GETS VOTING CONTROL.
Nathan read it twice.
Emma reached for his hand.
He did not squeeze back at first.
May you like
He was staring at a family structure he had trusted his whole life.
Then he finally held on.
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