Chapter 5: The Lawyer's Betrayal
I didn't remember walking out of the house.
I only remembered standing beside Daniel's car, staring at him through the passenger window.
“Tell me he's lying.””
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
He opened the driver's door but didn't get inside.
“Maya, we need to discuss what your father said.””
“That's not an answer.””
“I have never altered your mother's will.””
“Then why did Dad accuse you?””
“Because he knows I was involved in a dispute concerning an earlier draft.””
I stepped backward.
“What earlier draft?””
Daniel looked toward the house.
“Let's get somewhere private.””
“No. You tell me now.””
He exhaled slowly.
“Four months before your mother died, she considered changing the trust structure. She wanted to remove Robert from any management position because she suspected he was diverting money.””
I folded my arms.
“You said she never mentioned that.””
“I said she never told me about a second will. I did not say there were no earlier drafts.””
The distinction felt like another betrayal.
“Did you change anything?””
“No.””
“Did you prepare documents?””
“Yes. But Claire never signed them.””
I stared at him.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because the documents were incomplete and irrelevant to the current trust.””
“Apparently they're not irrelevant to Dad.””
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Your father is trying to turn us against each other. If you stop trusting me, he gains time.””
I wanted to believe him.
But my mother's note had specifically warned me about Robert.
And now Robert was accusing Daniel.
I had no idea which man was telling the truth.
We drove back to the law office.
Olivia Bennett was waiting with a laptop and several printed financial statements.
When she saw my expression, she stopped talking.
“What happened?””
“My father says Daniel changed my mother's original will.””
Olivia looked at Daniel.
He nodded.
“Tell her everything.””
Daniel sat down.
“Two months before Claire died, I received an encrypted email from Thomas Reed. He claimed he had evidence that Robert and Vanessa were preparing fraudulent estate documents.””
Olivia leaned forward.
“Did he send the evidence?””
“Not initially. He asked for a meeting. Claire insisted on attending.””
I looked at him.
“Was that the hospital meeting?””
“No. The hospital meeting came later.””
Daniel opened his laptop and searched through an archive.
“I kept a copy of the email.””
He turned the screen toward me.
The sender's address was unfamiliar.
The subject line read:
*THE SECOND WILL IS ALREADY PREPARED.*
The email contained only three sentences.
Robert believes Claire will never discover the changes.
Vanessa has already arranged the witnesses.
If she signs what they bring to the hospital, Maya will lose everything.
I read it twice.
“Why didn't you report this?””
“I did. But before any formal investigation could begin, Thomas disappeared, and Claire died.””
Olivia tapped her pen against the table.
“Was there an attachment?””
Daniel nodded.
“A photograph.””
He opened it.
It showed a document resting on a desk.
The heading was identical to the second will we had just seen.
But there was one difference.
The signature page in the photograph was blank.
“Where did you get this?”” I asked.
“From Thomas.””
“Then why does my father have a signed version?””
Daniel looked at Olivia.
“That's what we need to find out.””
She returned to her financial records.
“There's another issue. I traced the money from the property loan.””
She displayed a diagram of transfers.
The first payment came from Sterling Capital Holdings.
The second went to Reed Holdings.
The third went to a private account registered under a different name.
“Whose account?”” I asked.
Olivia enlarged the screen.
*CLAIRE M. CARTER.*
My mother's name.
I stared.
“That can't be right.””
“It appears someone opened an account using your mother's identity after her death.””
“Can we find out who?””
Olivia nodded.
“The account was accessed using a digital authorization linked to the Carter Development Group's old headquarters.””
Daniel leaned forward.
“Who still has access?””
Olivia printed another sheet.
Three names appeared.
Robert Carter.
Vanessa Carter.
And Daniel Harrison.
The room went silent.
I looked at Daniel.
He didn't move.
“Why are you on that list?””
“Because I was originally appointed as the company's outside legal administrator.””
“Can you access the account?””
“No. My credentials were revoked two years ago.””
“By whom?””
“Robert.””
Olivia examined another line.
“There's something else. The account received a transfer of $850,000 four days after Claire's funeral.””
I covered my mouth.
“Who withdrew it?””
Olivia pointed to the transaction record.
A cash withdrawal had been authorized at a private banking branch.
The signature looked like my mother's.
But the date was impossible.
My mother had been dead for four days.
Daniel stood.
“We need the bank's original authorization records.””
I looked at the screen.
“Can Vanessa sign my mother's name?””
“She could have,” Olivia replied.
“But we need evidence.””
My phone rang.
Sophie.
I hadn't spoken to her in almost a week.
“Hey,” I answered.
“Maya? Where are you? I've been trying to reach you.””
“It's complicated.””
“I saw something online.””
My stomach tightened.
“What?””
“Your stepmother posted a family announcement.””
She sent me a screenshot.
It showed Vanessa standing beside Dad in front of our house.
Both were smiling.
The caption read:
After a difficult season, we're finally moving forward. Our family is grateful to begin a new chapter with the people who truly belong.
Below the photograph, Vanessa had added another sentence.
And congratulations to Robert on becoming the sole owner of Carter Development Group.
I stared at the screen.
“That isn't possible.””
Sophie lowered her voice.
“Maya, there's more.””
“What?””
“Your father is having a party tonight. They're announcing a major business partnership.””
“With whom?””
“I don't know. But I recognized the company logo on the invitation.””
She sent another photograph.
It showed a black invitation card.
At the bottom was a silver emblem.
*REED HOLDINGS.*
I looked at Daniel.
His expression hardened.
“Thomas Reed is back.””
Before I could ask anything else, Sophie whispered:
“Maya, I think you need to see who Vanessa is standing with in the second photograph.””
I opened the image.
Vanessa was smiling beside a tall man in a charcoal suit.
His face was older, but unmistakable.
Thomas Reed.
The missing financial director.
And he was wearing my mother's wedding ring.
I zoomed in.
It wasn't just similar.
It was the exact gold ring my mother had worn for twenty-three years.
The ring that had disappeared from her jewelry box shortly after her funeral.
I looked at Daniel.
“Why does Thomas Reed have my mother's wedding ring?””
Daniel stared at the photograph.
May you like
Then he whispered:
“Because he was there the night she died.””
