Chapter 4 - THE WOMEN AT THE TABLE
Brenda denied everything.
Through a lawyer.
By morning.
She claimed Gwen accidentally took her medication.
She claimed the pills were stored in a shared kitchen cabinet.
She claimed Gwen was under unusual pregnancy stress and had “misinterpreted” family conflict.
She also denied forcing Gwen under the table.
Unfortunately for Brenda, one guest had recorded part of the lunch.
Her name was Miriam Foster.
Seventy.
Widow of a former federal judge.
She called Lucas personally.
“I should have stopped it.”
Lucas said nothing.
Miriam continued.
“I didn't.”
“Why?”
“Cowardice.”
That answer surprised him.
Not confusion.
Not excuses.
Cowardice.
Miriam had attended three of Brenda's lunches.
At the first, Brenda mocked Gwen's housekeeping.
At the second, she made Gwen stand while everyone else ate because Gwen arrived seven minutes late.
Miriam protested once.
Brenda laughed.
The other women followed.
Miriam stayed silent afterward.
“Why record today?”
“Because it had gotten worse.”
“Did you know about the pills?”
“No.”
“Did you ever see my mother give Gwen medication?”
Miriam hesitated.
“Vitamins.”
Lucas felt cold.
“What kind?”
“Brenda had a little blue case.”
Not blue pills.
Blue case.
“She told Gwen pregnancy had made her deficient.”
“Did Gwen want them?”
“I don't know.”
“Did you ask?”
“No.”
Again.
Cowardice.
Miriam sent the recording.
It began before Lucas arrived.
Brenda telling Gwen:
“You don't sit until everyone is served.”
Gwen quietly:
“I haven't eaten since breakfast.”
Brenda:
“You've eaten enough for three people lately.”
Laughter.
Then later:
“Get under the table if you're going to behave like a dog.”
Gwen said:
“Please don't.”
Brenda:
“Lucas agrees with me.”
Lucas stopped the video.
He could not continue.
Miriam also identified the other guests.
Two immediately refused to cooperate.
One hired counsel.
Three eventually admitted the lunch occurred.
One, Caroline West, insisted:
“We thought it was a joke.”
Lucas nearly lost control when he heard.
Megan, the attorney he hired for Gwen, stopped him.
“Let them keep saying stupid things under oath.”
Gwen remained hospitalized for observation.
The contractions slowed.
The baby appeared stable.
That should have brought relief.
Instead the toxicology confirmation came back.
The sedative was real.
Repeated exposure was possible.
Then Dr. Patel found another issue.
Gwen was moderately malnourished.
Not starving.
But concerning for late pregnancy.
Low iron.
Low protein markers.
Weight gain below expected range.
Lucas remembered dinners Gwen skipped.
She said nausea.
Lunches with Brenda.
“Healthy eating plans.”
His mother praising her for “finally showing discipline.”
He had smiled.
Once.
God.
Gwen saw his face.
“Stop.”
“What?”
“Punishing yourself.”
“I helped her.”
“You didn't know.”
“I chose not to know.”
Gwen said nothing.
He appreciated that she did not rescue him from the truth.
Then Megan arrived with documents.
“The hospital social worker located the form Gwen mentioned.”
A document Brenda had repeatedly pressured her to sign.
It was titled:
Prenatal Family Stewardship Agreement.
Lucas frowned.
“What the hell is that?”
“Not a standard legal document.”
The language granted Brenda authority to oversee certain trust assets “for the benefit of any Dawson descendant” if Gwen became medically or psychologically incapable after childbirth.
Lucas stared.
“She wanted control over the baby's trust.”
Megan replied:
“Possibly.”
“Does she have any legal claim?”
“Not unless something else exists.”
Something else did.
Attached to the agreement was a copy of a trust amendment.
May you like
Signed by Lucas's late father.
And according to that amendment, the birth of Lucas's first child would automatically remove Brenda from control of nearly thirty percent of the Dawson family's voting assets.
