Chapter 6 - Colin Dalton
Colin Dalton arrived with two attorneys.
Miranda attended the civil interview.
He looked nothing like his mother.
Tall.
Nervous.
Expensive suit worn badly.
He stared at Miranda.
“I’m sorry about Tess.”
Miranda answered:
“Don't start with her if you're here to discuss money.”
He nodded.
Fair.
Colin explained Oakmere.
His mother told him she had accumulated investments and deferred compensation from the Wells family.
At first he believed her.
The $910,000 down payment contribution came through Dalton Estate Services.
He knew the company handled Wells household work.
He assumed his mother owned legitimate profits.
Miranda asked:
“When did you stop believing that?”
Colin looked down.
“Year three.”
“Why?”
“An invoice.”
“What invoice?”
“Roof replacement.”
Oakmere received $180,000 from Dalton Estate Services the same week Wells Family Holdings paid Dalton Estate Services $192,000 for roof work at a family property.
Colin knew the Wells roof contractor.
Actual job:
Around $40,000.
He confronted his mother.
“She said Graham had promised the money.”
“And you accepted that?”
“For a while.”
“When did you know it was false?”
Colin swallowed.
“When Lillian died.”
“Why then?”
“Mom panicked about losing access.”
There.
Colin knew continued money required continued access.
He did not stop it.
Instead he told Mrs. Dalton to keep transfers smaller.
The emails proved that.
Miranda stared.
“So you helped hide it.”
“Yes.”
Colin began crying.
“I kept telling myself Oakmere was already ours and selling would hurt tenants and investors.”
“You used tenants as justification.”
“Yes.”
“Employees?”
“No.”
“Family?”
He looked ashamed.
“Yes.”
Everyone had a word.
Graham used company.
Lillian used stability.
Mrs. Dalton used family.
Colin used tenants.
Different nouns.
Same purpose.
Make accountability sound cruel.
Colin offered cooperation.
Full Oakmere books.
Bank accounts.
Property valuations.
Sale options.
In exchange he wanted prosecutors to consider his cooperation separately from his mother’s conduct toward Tess.
Miranda had no authority over prosecution.
She said so.
But civilly, transparency mattered.
Oakmere’s current value came back at $10.8 million.
Debt:
$4.1 million.
Equity:
$6.7 million.
Forensic tracing estimated approximately 41 percent of equity growth was attributable to misappropriated Wells funds and appreciation thereon, subject to legal arguments.
Miranda stared.
Millions.
But not all of Oakmere.
Precision.
Colin had invested legitimate money too.
Outside investors existed.
The court would not simply hand Miranda an apartment building.
May you like
Good.
The truth needed to survive contact with law.
