Chapter 6 - DIANE'S SECRETDiane knew about the custody plan.
But not Lily's planned humiliation.
That was her defense.
It was partly true.
Robert had convinced Diane that Ethan was unstable after Emily's death.
He showed her carefully selected texts.
Arguments.
Old photographs.
One incident where Ethan punched a wall after receiving Emily's terminal diagnosis.
Diane became afraid.
Then Robert suggested temporary guardianship.
She agreed.
Why?
Not merely concern.
Robert had also been paying her mortgage from trust-linked accounts.
Diane claimed she didn't know where the money came from.
Records suggested she had deliberately avoided asking.
That distinction mattered.
Willful blindness wasn't innocence.
Ethan eventually confronted her in mediation.
“You saw Lily's face.”
Diane cried.
“Yes.”
“And still called her spoiled.”
“I was angry at you.”
“So you punished her?”
Diane shook her head.
“I don't know why I said it.”
Ethan did.
Because acknowledging Lily's injuries would destroy the story Diane had already chosen.
Ethan unstable.
Robert responsible.
Tessa harmless.
Diane protecting the family.
Lily's bruised face contradicted everything.
So Diane attacked the contradiction.
A four-year-old child.
That realization permanently changed Ethan's relationship with his mother.
He didn't cut her out forever.
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But grandmother stopped being a title that automatically granted access.
Trust had conditions now.
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