Chapter 17

Matt

It’s just on 2pm when I lead Kenna into the boardroom gramps had arranged for all of us to meet in. It’s large and set up like a war room of sorts. One long desk and 16 chairs surrounding it. A projection screen off to the right of the room and a laptop on the table, already connected to it, tell us that we're not the first ones there. Anthony sits at the table, a cup of strong dark coffee next to him. His eyes tear over and he smiles when he sees Kenna and stands. 

“You look so much like your mother." He smiles at her. Kenna walks up to him, taking his hands in hers, smiling back at him. “Mom told me all about you and Great Grandma; I’m sorry I never got to meet her.” She squeezes his hand gently and leans in to give him a gentle hug. He wraps his arms around her as the tears glisten in his eys. “She would have spoiled you rotten, child; you look a lot like her too. You were her favorite already the moment she held you.” The tear slides down his cheek and Kenna’s eyes also get teary

The door opens, and in walk Nate, Nikki, and who I can assume are Nikki’s parents and a younger brother. Kenna rushes over, and Nikki’s parents hold her tight, looking her over, making sure all the hairs are in place, then pulling her into a hug. “You have us worried sick, sweet child. We got here as soon as we could. Are you okay?” The lady asks as Nikki’s father looks me up and down, eyebrow raised slightly, and then takes in the room and her grandfather standing next to the table just behind Kenna and gives a small nod.

The door opens again, and Gramps, Uncle Dan, and Aunt El walk in, and to my surprise, they are followed by Maverick, his father Derik, and his mother, Elisa, and trailing behind Justin is a very nervous Jen clutching his hands. Derik spots his father and walks over with Elisa trailing him. “Gramps, you're here too?” Maverick asks confusedly. “I think it's time for a few introductions and for a few hard truths to come out. First a few introductions are in order.” Anthony says.

Everyone takes a seat, and for the first time, Derik notices Kenna. He looks at her, but to him, the pieces just are not making sense yet. There is recognition, but he just can't seem to place it. The table works clockwise, with Anthony taking the lead to Derik’s family, to Nikki's family, to my family, and me; then lastly, it reaches Makenna. I hold her hand beneath the table as she looks at Derik directly and starts, "My name is Makenna Westman. My mother was Carol; she passed away a few months ago. I met Matt 3 days ago when my best friend Nikki and your son Nate decided life would be too boring if they lost each other and got married.” Derik looks at Kenna with shock, then sadness. "I didn’t know who Nate was at the time and literally only found out after they were married. I only found out that Matt’s aunt was married to my father last night after I got married to Matt. I got to meet Great Grampa yesterday, not for the first time, as Mom's letter mentioned him and Great Grandma visiting just after I was born. I did not know much about Mom's life prior to yesterday, and from what I have learned, history almost repeated itself and not for the positive," she ended.

Anthony clears his throat at this, drawing attention to him as he places a thick stack of files down in front of himself. “I have been collecting this for a long time. While Carol was alive,” his voice cracks slightly at saying that, “she asked me not to act on it; she wanted peace, not war. She is gone now. I am not interested in peace any more. Not after what they tried to do again.” His file contained letters between Denise and Sophia written weeks before Carol’s 23rd birthday; it detailed planning to drug Carol and the setup. A private investigator's report documenting Denis’s attempts to locate Carol for control, not reconciliation, attempts to seize the trust fund Anthony and his wife had set up for her. Financial records showed Denise made unauthorized transfers from family accounts during her mother's health decline that were never accounted for when she thought no one was watching. 

Gramps brought forth a file of his own; his lawyer had luckily been on top of everything. His files contained evidence of Sylvester Ellis, my dad, and the last name I refused to take, and his three attempts to access ranch estate accounts using forged authorization letters during Bill's health scare. Emails and texts between Sylvester and Claire outlined their plan to use the Chelsea-Matt marriage to access the Hargrove and Ulrich business connections while my dad was camped out by the lawyers' office and Clair pretended to care from the hospital waiting room. I can’t believe my own father would try to steal from my grandfather, who wasn’t even his family. 

Gramps also had evidence of Claire feeding Chelsea information, all their texts as well as texts between Claire and Sophia, all containing information on my movements and plans, even my favorite foods and drinks. It was next-level stalking. In some ways I felt sorry for Chelsea; she was a product of the deliberate conditioning and brainwashing from her mother and Claire. Sophia raised her to understand that men were leverage and her charm was a weapon. The messages were up to date and even had the conversations regarding drugging Matt. 

With that, the floodgates of evidence opened, and Nate, Patricia, and Ray began analyzing, cataloging, and laying it all out. Turns out Carol had left a file just as thick as what Anthony had, full of evidence she had also gathered. Patricia laid bare the legal exposure with courtroom precision: the drug attempt, financial fraud, forgery, and patterns of coercion. She was in shark mode, and man, was I glad she was on our side. Nate helped her build timelines, ruling out statute limitations for some, and I could see her respect building for him in the methodical way he helped her put it all together. 

Derik looked like he wanted to be sick, learning some of this for the first time, the manipulation his mother, sister, and niece were capable of, and then everything else and the loss of his baby sister still haunting him with the discovery of Kenna. There would be time for questions and time to talk, but right now it was building our battle plan.

Nine hours later, my phone lit up with my father's name. I set it face-down on the table. We had a plan. A plan to move forward, a plan for justice, and a plan to finally begin healing the many broken by the careless actions of a few greedy people. We were ready, and they knew nothing about what lay ahead. Let them come.