Summit Aggregate had paid consulting fees to a small company owned by
Thomas Mercer.
That itself was not unusual because he worked with vendor.
More concerning were transfers from that company to Ryan.
Regular payments.
Ryan had called them loans.
Investigators and forensic accountants examined whether they related to
legitimate work.
Some did.
Some lacked documentation.
Redstone’s new owners cooperated with review.
No one declared a grand conspiracy overnight.
Weeks became months.
My marriage existed in suspended state.
Daniel moved into apartment.
I remained in my house.
We did not speak except through counseling and lawyers at first.
I filed for legal separation.
Not because a lawyer told me what emotion to feel.
Because I needed space and financial clarity.
Daniel did not contest.
He wrote letter.
I did not read it for two weeks.
When I finally did:
Claire,
I did not cause your crash.
But I helped hide facts that might have helped you understand it.
