Chapter 12 - LINDA AND DIANE
Linda met Diane once before sentencing.
Counsel present.
No hugs.
Diane looked older.
“I loved Emily.”
Linda stared.
“You still say that in past tense.”
Diane flinched.
“I love her.”
“Then explain the cake.”
“I panicked.”
“No.”
Linda leaned forward.
“Panic is five seconds.”
Diane looked down.
“You made calls. Arranged payment. Used order information. Waited.”
Silence.
“That was planning.”
Diane started crying.
“I didn’t want to lose everything.”
Linda asked:
“What was everything?”
“The foundation.”
“You didn’t own it.”
“I built it.”
“So did a hundred people.”
Diane wiped her face.
“You always got to be the good one.”
Linda laughed.
“No.”
Then:
“I got to be the trusted one because you kept doing the work. And I trusted you too much.”
That was Linda’s accountability.
She had confused loyalty with control.
For years she let Diane operate with too little independent oversight.
Not because Linda caused the crimes.
Because governance had been lazy around family.
Then Linda said:
“I should have asked more questions.”
Diane whispered:
“You never had to.”
May you like
Exactly.
That was the problem.
