“I asked Judith.”
His eyes lifted.
The polished smile stayed in place, but it no longer reached them.
“Claire, this is family financial planning.”
“Judith is family.”
“And I handle her finances.”
Judith whispered, “Andrew.”
He shifted his attention to her. “Mom, we discussed this.”
The older woman beside Judith opened her handbag.
Andrew noticed.
His face changed.
Not much. Just enough.
The woman removed a folded bank statement and laid it beside Judith’s plate.
“I think she should read before she signs,” she said.
Sabrina frowned. “Excuse me, who are you again?”
The woman straightened. “Eleanor Price. I lived next door to Judith for thirty-two years. I also kept the books for my husband’s company until we sold it.”
That explained the careful handbag. The repeated checks of the clasp. She had not been nervous about the dinner.
She had been protecting papers.
Andrew’s jaw tightened.
“Eleanor, this is inappropriate.”
“No,” Judith said quietly.
Everyone looked at her.
She placed her fork down.
“What is inappropriate is that I asked you three times last month why the insurance account was short, and you told me I was confused.”
Sabrina’s eyes moved toward Andrew.
He leaned closer to his mother. “Because you were looking at the wrong statement.”
Eleanor unfolded the page.
“Then show us the right one.”
Andrew pushed his chair back.
Mark spoke for the first time. “Sit down.”
