Author Anon

“Your honor, I do not feel at this time that I am capable of caring for any child,” says David.

“You understand, Mr. Golde,” says Judge Kyle Wright, “that as the sole surviving parent of this child, you are fully responsible. Should you choose to give up this responsibility, he will become a ward of the state. You will sign away all rights you have to the child in order for him to be placed in foster care and/or adoption.”

“Yes, I understand,” says David.

“Do you choose to give up your rights?” asks the judge.

“Yes, I do,” says David.

“We will enter in your decision. Lucas Silverman, now known as Lucas Golde, will become a ward of the state.”

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“I hope you don’t mind, William,” says Melanie. “I’m taking the day off to help the girls set up their shop.”

“Not at all,” says William. “Things are running smoothly at the office. And you need a break. I see you’re still a little nervous at times. Maybe you should see a doctor as well.”

“I’m fine, really,” says Melanie. “Maybe I’m just nervous about my children’s first attempt at entrepreneurship. They’re very excited about their grand opening this weekend.”

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“I’d like your permission to have the phones tapped at the Golde mansion,” says Nicholas.

“What for?” asks Marie.

“As part of my investigation into Carl Redd,” says Nicholas.

“What does he have to do with what goes on in that house?”

“You have to promise not to be sharing this information with anyone,” says Nicholas. “It will compromise our investigation if too much information gets out.”

“I promise.”

“I mean, no one. Not even your husband.”

“Okay.”

“Carl Redd is actually Carl Black. He was once married to Melanie.”

“What?!! She’s involved in this, isn’t she? She married my dad to get the money, didn’t she?”

“We can’t jump into any conclusions,” says Nicholas. “She may not know anything about this.”

“Oh, I’ll bet she does.”

“My job is to find Carl and he may try to contact her. That’s why I’d like the phones tapped.”

“I’ll give you my permission, but I don’t know if you’ll need anyone else’s. I don’t live there anymore and since she moved in, I haven’t been over there to run things.”

“Do the servants trust you?”

“Of course. They have all been with us before Melanie came along.”

“So, if you were to go in and start messing with the phones, they will not question anything?”

“Not at all. They might even help out.”

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“I understand your family has been representing the Goldes for generations,” says Michael.

“Yes, we’ve handled all their estate business since Frederick III,” says Douglas Sinclair.

“I’m not too familiar with the entire family tree,” says Michael.

“Frederick Senior was a bright businessman. Of course, he also had the advantage of coming from a wealthy family in the post-Civil War era. He was an upstanding citizen and a community leader. They owned several cotton mills. With the profits, he went into the jewelry business. If he hadn’t died of the flu back in the days of the epidemic, he could have made Golde, Inc. what it is now back then.”

“What happened to it?” asks Michael.

“Frederick Junior was young and less ambitious. His wife came from a very good old family but they were poor. The cotton mills were important to the community, so they concentrated on that and allowed the jewelry store to remain a corner shop.”

“What happend to the cotton mills? Did they all shut down, too?”

“Eventually, as you know most of them did around here. But they did very well for a long time. It was Frederick III who lost control of them.”

“How?”

“That’s where we came into the picture,” says Douglas. “Everything I’ve told you has been passed down through local folklore. What I’m telling you next is partially based on local rumors as well as truth. Frederick III had a penchant for beautiful women. His wife was beautiful, came from an old family, and was handpicked by his parents. He, unfortunately, married her out of duty and quickly became bored. He was known as a womanizer and had many affairs, kept discreet, so it was okay. However, he had one that wasn’t so discreet. It was with a beautiful girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Her family worked in the mills and they weren’t too happy with the affair, either. Frederick Junior threatened to cut the younger Fred out, but he ignored it. He may have thought it was just a prank. Anyhow, the young girl, whose name was Constance Albright, found herself pregnant. She hoped her Freddie would marry her but he kept stalling for time. When Junior found out about the pregnancy, he had an apoplectic seizure and died. He had not entirely cut off the young Fred, but only gave him the jewelry store, which meant very little to him at the time. The mills and everything else was left to the younger son, Peter. The family lawyers refused to work with young Fred due to the scandal. Young Fred found himself in an unenviable position. He had little money now and couldn’t see to support himself with Constance and a new baby. He already had his own family and what little security that afforded. If he left his wife, it was unlikely he would have been able to keep the jewelry store as well. He chose to stay with his wife. Constance, in desperation, drowned herself.”

“How tragic. What happened to her baby?”

“Her baby was taken in and raised by Constance’s mother, who moved away due to the scandal.”

“What became of Fred III?”

“Apparently, he felt very guilty about it and the whole tragedy plagued him. Peter died without any children and without a will, so the entire lot came back to Fred. When he died, it came as a shock that he only left the jewelry store to his son, Peter. The rest was given to his daughter, whose name was unknown at the time. Out of respect to Fred’s wife and Peter’s family, an extensive search for the daughter was not made. The mills and other businesses were run by a trust that was set up by Fred. As you know the mills shut down eventually, but in the revitalization efforts, they have been turned into offices and retail space, so they are realizing some profit from rent, now. The other businesses were sold to local businessmen and the money held in trust, earning interest. After all this time, we’re not sure we’d be able to locate the heiress. Are you representing her?”

“Actually, I represent Julia Golde’s interest but if this has no bearing on it, then it won’t be very useful. I happen to guess who the heiress is.”

“Well, we all found out who it was. Later, that is.”

“How?”

“Peter’s marriage was falling apart because he lacked the drive to make the jewelry store a big concern. His wife was very ambitious and she wanted to be what her grandmother-in-law was – a society matron. That’s when he fell in love with another woman, Blanche Albright. When his mother, who was still living at the time, found out about the affair, she told Peter who Blanche was. Apparently, he had been kept sheltered during his father’s affair with Constance.”

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Filed under: All That Glitters