The Trust

Chapter 30: Heavenly Peace

That's why it took me as long as I did to suspect Uncle Rob. What makes a man with such kind eyes turn into a cruel conman? What does it take to turn a saint into a sinner?

When my father left, his siblings stepped in and did what they could for us while supporting their own families — an admirable feat since none of them were rich. I thought of them all like guardian angels and assumed they were all cut from the same cloth. Turns out I didn't know Uncle Rob at all.

I swirled a rich merlot in the glass as I gaze at my Christmas tree, adorned with the treasured ornaments from the past. They aren't worth any money; Mom probably got them from the local Woolworth's or Dollar Store, but they were valuable to me. I had the tinsel evenly distributed the way I wanted and big, colourful bulbs of light that made the tree look magical.

As much as I tried to push the scam aside and enjoy the holiday, I couldn't get it off my mind.

We would get him. But first we had to find him.

God only knew where he was. Rob kept saying he was in New York, but I doubted it. According to rumours, he was spotted everywhere from Madison Avenue to the local grocery store, black sunglasses on and ball hat pulled way down, like a celebrity avoiding the paparazzi. Which he was, in a sense.

The local papers picked up on the waterfront story. Whether they were new, incompetent, or unscrupulous, reporters posted fanciful stories verbatim from his LinkedIn and Facebook profiles without checking if the plans were actually real. They included his architect's renderings in the stories, images he likely stole off the internet. No one asked any questions; even the hardest local reporter embraced the scheme as real and a huge economic boost for the town. And the 'investments' poured in.

Grey Harbour was in a buzz over the proposed tourist haven right here at home; the hundreds of new jobs it would create, ushering in a whole new era for the economically depressed municipality. And he was the elusive hero, humbly refusing to answer any questions after his grand announcement, his quotes were all vague promises and hyperbole.

After the disastrous Douglas Day, reporters called me wanting more information about the waterfront development or my criticisms about my uncle, but I dodged them. Stirring the pot further wasn't going to save my family from financial ruin. I had to figure out what would. But how do you save people who don't want to be rescued? How do you protect them from themselves?

Everyone still had stars in their eyes about the promised fortune. There was no getting through to them; they put up a solid wall of denial and family unity.

So, I retreated for my mental health, at least for a while. A social media break would do me some good. I decided to log out of all my channels for a couple of weeks, instead focusing on making a wonderful holiday for Audrey; her first one without her dad. To my surprise, she took the news of our split well, she even seemed relieved. Kids see more than you think they do.

As much as I tried to shield her, she knew I went through hell with her father, and her loyalties were firmly with me, without me having to say a word. She barely wanted anything to do with him, despite his pleading. She laughed in his face when he said he wanted her to come spend Christmas with him and his new girlfriend in their shitty apartment.

Oh well. You reap what you sow and all that. I took another sip of the warm, spicy wine.

It would be a quiet, reflective Christmas and that's what I need. I'm focusing on the good in my life, loyal friends like Jake who stood by me no matter what, my health, a happy kid on her way to university, my work success which made our Christmas possible and eased my financial stress.

Clive was still convinced I was coming into big money and therefore being a pain in the ass, refusing to sign the papers to at least get the divorce started. He was determined to run up lawyer bills for both of us instead of settling things amicably. But I decided to take a few weeks away from worrying about that as well.