Chapter 18 - THE RECORDING BEFORE THE PARTY
One of the catering staff had left a phone recording near the service station because she was making a time-lapse setup video.
Audio captured Helen and Robert before guests arrived.
Not hidden surveillance.
Accidental background.
The caterer discovered it when lawyers requested photos of the event after the plate incident.
Robert:
“Thomas signs Monday.”
Helen:
“He’s been difficult.”
Robert:
“He always comes around.”
Then:
“The kids?”
Helen:
“I’ll handle them.”
Robert:
“Don’t overdo it.”
Helen:
“They need knocking down.”
My blood went cold.
Robert:
“Why?”
Helen:
“Rebecca told Margaret her father pays for everything.”
Silence.
Then Robert:
“She said that?”
Helen:
“Apparently.”
There.
The children had not been selected randomly.
Rebecca had told the truth.
At a previous family lunch, Margaret thanked me for her assisted-living payment.
Rebecca overheard.
Later, she told cousins:
“My dad helps Grandpa and Grandma too.”
Helen found out.
The children’s forced service was punishment for disrupting the family hierarchy.
My mother wanted to restore the story:
Robert and Helen were benefactors.
May you like
Thomas’s children should act grateful and humble.
The birthday party was a public correction.
