They Laughed When Grandpa Left the Marine $2—She Turned the Bill Over and Walked Into His Bank — Transcript

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1. 0:00Ma'am, a $2 bill is still legal tender.
2. 0:03You don't need a manager to spend it.
3. 0:06>> Turn it over.
4. 0:15>> Where did you get this?
5. 0:17>> My grandfather's will. It's the whole
6. 0:20inheritance.
7. 0:24>> I'll need your military ID, Major, and a
8. 0:28driver's license.
9. 0:47Is there a problem?
10. 0:49>> No, ma'am. Please stay right there.
11. 0:55>> Sir, she's here. Yes, sir. The mark. And
12. 1:01she has the bill. Yes, sir. Major
13. 1:04Kendrick.
14. 1:06There are people who've been waiting 8
15. 1:08years for you to walk through that door.
16. 1:11>> Who?
17. 1:14>> 20 minutes. Sir,
18. 1:16I'll keep the door locked.
19. 1:27This is the last will of August
20. 1:28Kendrick. The charitable gifts and
21. 1:31personal items are listed in schedule A.
22. 1:35To my son, Conrad, my cash accounts, and
23. 1:38my controlling interest in Kendrick
24. 1:40Freight, a company I started with one
25. 1:42used truck.
26. 1:44to my grandson Preston, $6 million, the
27. 1:48house in Charlottesville, and my
28. 1:50investment accounts.
29. 1:54>> Told you
30. 1:59to my granddaughter, Major Rachel
31. 2:00Kendrick. I give and bequath $2.
32. 2:08[laughter]
33. 2:10$2. Guess that's what you're worth,
34. 2:12major. The man built a billion-dollar
35. 2:15company out of one truck and he left you
36. 2:17bus fair.
37. 2:18>> Dad knew what he was doing, Ray. We
38. 2:20respect it.
39. 2:23>> There's no letter. That's everything I'm
40. 2:26instructed to give you today.
41. 2:40Don't spend it all in one place, Major.
42. 3:10One of my Marines, Briggs, his legs a
43. 3:12mess. His wife's been sleeping in her
44. 3:15car in the hospital parking lot 3 weeks.
45. 3:20>> You look after everybody, Ry. Who's
46. 3:23looking after you?
47. 3:27[snorts]
48. 3:34Why do you always do that?
49. 3:36>> People read the big print. What matters
50. 3:38is on the side. Nobody bothers to turn
51. 3:41over
52. 3:49Carrington. his bank.
53. 4:11You read me that will yesterday and
54. 4:12didn't say a word. Your grandfather made
55. 4:14me swear. One word from me in that room
56. 4:17and your brother would have beaten you
57. 4:18to this bank.
58. 4:25Major, eight years ago, your grandfather
59. 4:28set up a trust with us, separate from
60. 4:30the estate for wounded veterans and
61. 4:33their families.
62. 4:35>> Short-term housing near the hospitals,
63. 4:38job training, emergency grants when a
64. 4:41family's about to go under. And he named
65. 4:43you to oversee it.
66. 4:48I'm active duty. I can't run a charity.
67. 4:51>> You won't have to.
68. 4:53The bank is the trust.
69. 4:56>> We hire the people who run it dayto day.
70. 4:59You make the calls that matter.
71. 5:03>> So, it's not an inheritance. It's a job.
72. 5:07He trusted you with it.
73. 5:13>> Why a $2 bill?
74. 5:15>> Nobody spends a $2 bill. He knew you'd
75. 5:17keep it and he knew they'd laugh and
76. 5:20stop watching you.
77. 5:23And if I'd never turned it over, then
78. 5:26I'd have given you 90 days.
79. 5:28After that, I'd have come and found you
80. 5:30myself.
81. 5:38Tom Briggs, wife slept in the car at
82. 5:41Walter Reed for 3 weeks. No family
83. 5:43should have to.
84. 5:45I told him that over a bowl of soup 11
85. 5:48years ago. He wrote it down.
86. 5:56>> This is the part that worries us.
87. 5:59>> The heart of the trust is Hollow Creek,
88. 6:01400 acres. Everything I just described
89. 6:04runs on that land.
90. 6:08>> The farm.
91. 6:10>> On paper, it's still Kendrick Freights.
92. 6:13Your grandfather signed it over to the
93. 6:15trust and recorded the restriction with
94. 6:16the county.
95. 6:18It passes to the trust now that he's
96. 6:20gone.
97. 6:23Unless he canled that himself in writing
98. 6:26while he was alive.
99. 6:28>> Since February, your brother has been
100. 6:30negotiating to sell that land to
101. 6:32Brightwater Development. Their $3
102. 6:34million deposit went into Preston's own
103. 6:37company.
104. 6:41How do you know that?
105. 6:46>> In March, Brightwaters's lawyer wrote to
106. 6:48your grandfather. Preston assures us you
107. 6:50will sign the cancellation. Please
108. 6:52confirm. He didn't sign. He had his
109. 6:55secretary of 30 years pull Preston's
110. 6:57emails off the company server.
111. 7:03Close before the trust paperwork becomes
112. 7:05an obstacle.
113. 7:07Grandpa doesn't read anything closely
114. 7:09anymore. Bring it as a routine renewal.
115. 7:11He'll sign.
116. 7:17Dad's on this. He replied once.
117. 7:23Do what you need to. Don't tell me the
118. 7:25details.
119. 7:34Not mine to fix anymore.
120. 7:38Give it to Ry. You've had this since
121. 7:40March. Why didn't you stop it?
122. 7:42>> While he was alive, it was his call. Now
123. 7:45it's your call. We've been holding this
124. 7:47file for you.
125. 7:48>> Then stop it.
126. 7:53>> Sign here. As trustee, the bank puts a
127. 7:56hold on the land and we notify
128. 7:58Brightwater this morning.
129. 8:02Here's [panting]
130. 8:05what that means, Rey. A hold buys time.
131. 8:09You signed it so your signature can lift
132. 8:11it. To make it stick, we lock down every
133. 8:14record, get an independent review, and
134. 8:17if the proof is there, we ask a judge
135. 8:20for an injunction.
136. 8:23>> And if it's not there,
137. 8:25>> we prove it or we don't say it.
138. 8:38Brightwater just got a hold notice from
139. 8:40Carrington Grandpa's bank the morning
140. 8:42after you got your $2. Where are you?
141. 8:45>> You know where I am.
142. 8:47>> Listen to me. Whatever grandpa left you
143. 8:49belongs to this family. Tell them to
144. 8:51lift that hold and come home.
145. 8:55>> Why are you so worried about what I'll
146. 8:57find?
147. 8:58>> Unbelievable.
148. 9:08He wanted you to read this after you'd
149. 9:09seen the file, not before.
150. 9:18Don't take this as a reward.
151. 9:21Money only helps people as long as
152. 9:23whoever's holding it remembers who it's
153. 9:25for.
154. 9:27I couldn't tell you this to your face.
155. 9:30If your father and brother knew, they'd
156. 9:33have dragged you through court for
157. 9:34years.
158. 9:38If anyone's reached into this trust,
159. 9:40don't go hunting for revenge.
160. 9:42Go hunting for the truth and let it do
161. 9:45the rest.
162. 9:47Grandpa
163. 9:53>> Preston says you've been asking about
164. 9:55the land. Come to the house tonight.
165. 9:59We settle this privately before you do
166. 10:01something none of us can undo.
167. 10:05>> I'll come. I'm not signing anything.
168. 10:08>> You have no idea what you're walking
169. 10:10into.
170. 10:22You actually came.
171. 10:34Major Carrington told Brightwater the
172. 10:36hold was placed on your instruction as
173. 10:38the trust overseer. So, this is
174. 10:40straightforward. You lift the hold and
175. 10:42confirm the trust has no claim on the
176. 10:44Hollow Creek land. You confirm you have
177. 10:46no claim on the company and the sale
178. 10:48stays confidential.
179. 10:50And on closing day, I pay you $2
180. 10:53million.
181. 10:55You sign tonight, the bank lifts the
182. 10:57hold tomorrow, and we close next week.
183. 11:012 million? That's a million times what
184. 11:03grandpa thought you were worth.
185. 11:14You walked out of that room yesterday
186. 11:16with 6 million.
187. 11:18Why do you need this land so badly?
188. 11:29It's dead land, Ray. It's been sitting
189. 11:31there doing nothing for 40 years. You
190. 11:33don't understand how business works.
191. 11:35>> That program never even started. It was
192. 11:37an old man's dream.
193. 11:41He spent eight years on it.
194. 11:44>> You weren't here, Ray. You don't know
195. 11:46what he was like at the end.
196. 11:48>> I was there in April. Dad,
197. 12:01>> think about your brother's name. Think
198. 12:03about mine. I paid for your school. When
199. 12:07you joined up, I stood behind you. I've
200. 12:10held this family together for 30 years.
201. 12:12>> You told everyone I'd come home and join
202. 12:14the company. You weren't holding this
203. 12:16family together, Dad.
204. 12:30>> Grandpa already left me what I'm worth.
205. 12:32The answer is no.
206. 12:34You're going to throw away $2 million
207. 12:36over a
208. 12:40>> Thank you for your time.
209. 12:50>> Ma'am, can I ask you something? The
210. 12:52colonel chewed out the whole staff this
211. 12:54morning and you didn't even blink.
212. 12:56>> How do you never lose it?
213. 13:00>> Sort what you know from what you're
214. 13:02feeling. Then act on the first pile.
215. 13:11>> The independent review has started.
216. 13:14Every record is locked down so far. It
217. 13:16backs up everything the bank showed you.
218. 13:19>> And my father.
219. 13:21>> Just that one reply.
220. 13:24[sighs]
221. 13:26>> Last night they offered me 2 million to
222. 13:28sign. I didn't.
223. 13:33>> Good. Don't sign anything.
224. 13:38It took a week to get Brightwood's
225. 13:40closing file.
226. 13:42This is the paper Preston showed them to
227. 13:44say the land was still the company's.
228. 13:49The handwriting expert calls the
229. 13:50signature questionable, but that alone
230. 13:53won't prove forgery.
231. 13:59April 14th, I took leave that whole
232. 14:02week.
233. 14:04I sat by his bed at hospice and fed him
234. 14:07soup, one spoonful at a time.
235. 14:12He couldn't hold a spoon that week,
236. 14:13Judith. Pull his chart.
237. 14:20This is Judith Crane, council for the
238. 14:21Kendrick estate. I need the nursing
239. 14:24notes for August Kendrick. April 12th
240. 14:26through 18th. I'll hold.
241. 14:33April 14th. Patient unable to grip
242. 14:35tenses fed by granddaughter.
243. 14:38He couldn't have signed this.
244. 14:42And this is where the deposit went.
245. 14:44Every cent of the 3 million went to
246. 14:46cover losses on Preston's Norfolk Pier
247. 14:49project.
248. 14:50Your father never knew it was losing
249. 14:53money.
250. 14:53>> If the sale falls through, he has to pay
251. 14:56the deposit back.
252. 14:58>> And the estate won't pay him a scent for
253. 15:00months.
254. 15:04It was never the land.
255. 15:08It was dad finding out.
256. 15:10With this, I'm asking a judge for an
257. 15:12injunction today. The experts report and
258. 15:15these notes go to the prosecutor.
259. 15:21Preston's lawyer is asking for a
260. 15:23meeting.
261. 15:25>> Fine. You're in the room.
262. 15:32>> Two weeks. Rey, the deal's frozen. There
263. 15:35are lawyers everywhere. Dad won't take
264. 15:37my calls. What more do you want?
265. 15:40>> The truth.
266. 15:46>> You could have taken the 2 million and
267. 15:47walked away. And if the sale had closed,
268. 15:50what would have been left for the
269. 15:51veterans?
270. 15:57>> For the record, Preston, the land is
271. 15:59under a court order now. Nobody's
272. 16:00signature lifts it. And the signature
273. 16:03from April 14th is with the prosecutor.
274. 16:05Nobody can take that back either.
275. 16:16Your grandfather left one more thing
276. 16:17with me. Ray, check your bill.
277. 16:28>> Same number.
278. 16:30>> If anyone in this family offered Ry
279. 16:31money to walk away and she refused, this
280. 16:34was to be opened in front of that
281. 16:35person.
282. 16:39the farmhouse at Hollow Creek. The house
283. 16:42and the 5 acres around it. He set them
284. 16:46apart inside the trust. They're not part
285. 16:48of the program. They go to you
286. 16:51personally.
287. 16:55>> The kitchen.
288. 16:57Either way, it was going to be yours in
289. 17:00a year, no matter what.
290. 17:07Rey,
291. 17:09your father and brother got what they
292. 17:10asked me for.
293. 17:13You never asked me for anything.
294. 17:16I asked you once who was looking after
295. 17:18you, and you didn't have an answer.
296. 17:25So, I'm answering for you.
297. 17:32Phase one, existing structure.
298. 17:36They were going to tear it down. I was
299. 17:39going to let them tear down grandpa's
300. 17:41kitchen.
301. 17:45I knew there was an old house on that
302. 17:47land. I never knew they were tearing it
303. 17:48down.
304. 17:54>> You didn't look.
305. 18:05You're one Saturday off and you're
306. 18:07fixing a printer. I have a printer from
307. 18:09the '9s.
308. 18:11Tell me,
309. 18:13Preston sold the Charlottesville house.
310. 18:15Brightwater got its 3 million back and
311. 18:18he paid his lawyers. He pleaded guilty
312. 18:20to a misdemeanor, probation, no jail.
313. 18:25And dad,
314. 18:27your father stood up in front of the
315. 18:28board and took Preston's title away
316. 18:31himself.
317. 18:32Then he agreed to an independent monitor
318. 18:34at the company. He answers to them now.
319. 18:44>> Major. Sorry. Sorry. I'm early. You're
320. 18:47busy. I can come back.
321. 18:48>> Briggs, [clears throat]
322. 18:49I'm the one who called you. Sit down.
323. 18:54I'm in an electrician program. 8 months.
324. 18:59I just need a place to stay near the
325. 19:00school until I finish.
326. 19:04Sorry.
327. 19:06I know there are guys a lot worse off
328. 19:07than me.
329. 19:09>> You don't have to apologize for asking
330. 19:10for help.
331. 19:13>> I'm used to being the guy people lean
332. 19:15on. Ma'am,
333. 19:19>> who's looking after you?
334. 19:23>> [snorts]
335. 19:25>> Fill it out. You're the first one.
336. 19:36>> He used to sit right here every
337. 19:38Saturday. Same booth.
338. 19:40>> I know. He brought me.
339. 19:46>> I owe you an apology.
340. 19:48The day of the will, I knew what Preston
341. 19:50was doing to you. I let him.
342. 19:53>> And when he told me about the land, I
343. 19:55said, "Don't tell me the details."
344. 19:57>> I didn't want to know.
345. 20:04>> I was relieved you got so little.
346. 20:07>> That way, I never had to ask myself
347. 20:09whether I'd always been unfair to you.
348. 20:13>> You didn't hurt me because I didn't get
349. 20:14the money, Dad.
350. 20:17You hurt me because you watched him
351. 20:19humiliate me and acted like I deserved
352. 20:21it.
353. 20:25>> Tell me about the program.
354. 20:31>> Briggs got the first apartment.
355. 20:33>> Six more families since. Nobody's
356. 20:35sleeping in a car.
357. 20:40>> Preston wrote you, didn't he?
358. 20:42>> He did. I wrote back one line. when he
359. 20:45can own what he did without blaming
360. 20:47anybody, we'll talk.
361. 20:52>> I'm not ready to forgive you yet, Dad.
362. 20:55>> Same time next month.
363. 20:58>> I'll be [music] here.
364. 21:11>> Why is the money in there backwards?
365. 21:14It's not backwards.
366. 21:16That's the side that matters.