Chapter 2 - WHITMORE HOLDINGS

Monday morning, my attorney, Rebecca Sloan, sat across from me with three printed folders.
She had already pulled public business records.
Whitmore Holdings LLC belonged to Carol.
Not Jason.
Not me.
Not Emma.
Carol formed it fourteen months earlier.
Its stated purpose was real-estate investment and property management.
Rebecca slid over another page.
“Recognize this address?”
I did.
Carol’s rental property outside Richmond.
The house she constantly described as her “retirement investment.”
Except she did not own it outright.
Whitmore Holdings had purchased it using a combination of financing and cash.
A lot of cash.
Rebecca pointed at the dates.
Several deposits into Whitmore Holdings occurred within days of transfers from our accounts.
The totals were close enough to require investigation.
Not assumption.
But enough to make my stomach turn.
“How much of our money could be in that property?”
“We need tracing.”
Rebecca was careful.
Good.
I needed careful.
Not fantasy.
Not revenge.
Records.
Then she asked:
“Who controls Emma’s education account?”
“Jason and I are both authorized.”
“What kind of account?”
I told her.
That mattered legally.
Different account structures carried different rules.
Rebecca did not promise that every transfer was automatically criminal or recoverable.
She promised something better.
“We document exactly what happened.”
Then:
“And Lauren?”
“Yes?”
“Do not discuss money with Carol.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“Good.”
“She hit my child.”
Rebecca’s expression changed.
“I know.”
The financial case mattered.
But custody would begin with Emma.
May you like
As it should.
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