Chapter 16 - Diane’s financial story
Money was not the motive.
That surprised relatives.
They expected:
Inheritance.
Caregiver payments.
House.
No.
Diane’s finances were stable.
Pension from twenty-six years working in municipal administration.
Social Security.
Paid-off condominium.
Roughly $420,000 in retirement assets.
The $900 monthly childcare contribution mattered but was not necessary for survival.
She had not abused Lily to keep money.
She abused authority because she believed her method was better.
That was harder for some people.
They wanted greed.
Greed is tidy.
Control is intimate.
Diane did resent the nanny expense.
She told Marjorie:
Daniel will pay a stranger twenty-five dollars an hour to be manipulated by his own child.
There.
Money represented replacement.
Status.
Not need.
When I hired Sophie, Diane lost the role she considered proof that I still needed her after Claire’s death.
Grief again.
Diane had lost Claire too.
Not like I did.
Still.
She loved being the person who could hold the family together.
My recovery threatened that identity.
Again:
May you like
Context.
Not excuse.
