Richard knew that. He had signed that agreement himself, willingly, nine years earlier.
When Madison’s attorney showed her the relevant pages, she agreed to cooperate fully with investigators. She turned over the texts, the email instructions, and a recorded voice message in which Richard had told her, quite plainly, to describe the transfer as an emergency company loan if the bank ever called asking questions.
He had pulled his own daughter directly into the plan and expected her to absorb whatever risk came with it.
Madison called me once, after she’d begun cooperating. I answered, because Nina had advised me to record the call and avoid discussing any specifics of the case itself.
She sounded younger on the phone than she had at the reunion, all the sharp confidence drained out of her voice.
“I didn’t know he was planning to leave you,” she said.
I said nothing.
