Chapter 6 - THE TRUST
The following morning, my father moved all three of us to a secure estate outside the city.
The lawyers arrived before breakfast.
There were four of them.
None smiled.
Dad sat at the head of the table.
My mother sat beside him.
Lillian sat across from me.
I had a plate of pancakes.
Nobody else was eating.
The lead attorney, Mr. Harrison, opened the original trust.
“This document changes everything.”
Dad leaned forward.
“What did my mother do?”
“She didn't create a normal inheritance.”
“What does that mean?”
“The trust was designed to survive fraud.”
Dad frowned.
Mr. Harrison explained that Grandma had anticipated someone attempting to forge signatures.
So she created multiple verification layers.
Biological.
Legal.
Financial.
And personal.
“No transfer can happen unless the three protected heirs are present.”
Dad looked at Lillian.
“Who are the three?”
“Lillian.”
He looked at me.
“Lily.”
“And the third?”
The attorney paused.
“Thomas.”
Dad stared.
“Who is Thomas?”
Mr. Harrison opened a file.
A birth certificate.
Thomas Hayes.
Born eleven months after Lillian.
Mother: unknown.
Father: Daniel Hayes.
Dad went pale.
“I have three children?”
“Yes.”
My mother covered her mouth.
“That isn't possible.”
The attorney looked at her.
“Your husband had no idea.”
“No.”
“Then who was Thomas's mother?”
The attorney turned the page.
The name had been blacked out.
Dad stood.
“Why?”
“Because the original record was altered.”
“By whom?”
“Your grandfather.”
Dad sat down.
My mother whispered:
“He had another child.”
Lillian looked at me.
“That's why he wanted us separated.”
Dad looked at the lawyer.
“Where is Thomas?”
“We don't know.”
“What do we know?”
“He was placed in foster care.”
“When?”
“Twenty-eight years ago.”
Dad's face fell.
“Twenty-eight?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
“Because the records were sealed.”
“Who sealed them?”
Mr. Harrison answered:
“Robert.”
Dad closed his eyes.
Robert had been controlling the family for decades.
Then the attorney showed us another document.
A payment ledger.
Every month, money had been transferred to an account under a name.
Thomas Reed.
Dad stared.
“That's him.”
“Probably.”
“Where is the account?”
“Closed three years ago.”
“Why?”
“The final withdrawal was made by…”
The lawyer hesitated.
“Vanessa.”
My father stood.
“Find her.”
But before he could leave, the door opened.
Vanessa walked inside.
Two officers escorted her.
She looked exhausted.
She stared at me.
Then at Dad.
“I know where Thomas is.”
Dad's face hardened.
“Tell me.”
“He's dead.”
Silence.
Lillian stood.
“No.”
Vanessa looked at her.
“He died three years ago.”
“How?”
“An overdose.”
Lillian shook her head.
“You're lying.”
“I saw the body.”
“No.”
“You weren't there.”
Lillian's voice broke.
“He promised me he'd come back.”
Vanessa cried.
“He couldn't.”
Dad looked at her.
“Why did you take money from his account?”
“Because I was paying for his treatment.”
“What treatment?”
“Cancer.”
Dad froze.
“Thomas had cancer?”
“Yes.”
“Then he wasn't your accomplice.”
“No.”
“Why did you help him?”
Vanessa looked at me.
“Because your mother asked me to.”
My mother stepped forward.
“When?”
“Before she disappeared.”
Dad stared at my mother.
“You knew Vanessa?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father was watching you.”
Dad's voice broke.
“You let me believe she was hurting Lily.”
“She was.”
Vanessa nodded.
“I did terrible things.”
“You humiliated my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“You stole from the trust.”
“Yes.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“Then why should I believe you now?”
Vanessa looked down.
“Because I have the key.”
She pulled a small silver key from her pocket.
Dad stared.
“The west-wing key.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“The real one.”
She placed it on the table.
The attorney picked it up.
He examined it.
Then his expression changed.
“This isn't a key.”
“What?”
“It is a data key.”
He inserted it into his laptop.
A file appeared.
PROJECT LILY.
Dad stared.
“What is this?”
The file opened.
There were videos.
Photographs.
Financial records.
And one document.
A plan.
My grandfather had created a complete strategy for taking control of my inheritance.
Step one:
Separate Lily from her father.
Step two:
Discredit Sophia.
Step three:
Use Vanessa.
Step four:
Forge Lily's signature.
Step five:
Remove Lillian.
Step six:
Locate Thomas.
Step seven:
Transfer the trust.
Dad looked at me.
His face filled with horror.
“They planned this before you were born.”
My mother nodded.
“Yes.”
Then another file opened automatically.
A video.
My grandfather appeared on screen.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Lily will inherit everything.”
He smiled.
“But she won't live long enough to control it.”
Dad stopped breathing.
The video continued.
“Her father will be blamed.”
My mother covered her mouth.
“And when the child disappears, the trust will transfer.”
Dad slammed the laptop shut.
“No.”
The room went silent.
Then the security alarm sounded.
Someone had entered the estate.
The guards rushed outside.
Dad grabbed my hand.
Lillian stood beside us.
My mother moved behind us.
Vanessa whispered:
“He found you.”
Dad looked at her.
“Who?”
May you like
She stared toward the windows.
“Your grandfather.”
