Chapter 46: The will

Daniel’s message sat on Bruno’s phone like a lit match.

They found Father’s will.

I stared at the screen.

Bruno looked at me first.

“You want to see it now?” he asked.

I wanted to say no. I wanted to sit on Mara’s sofa and pretend the world outside this hallway didn’t exist. But the will wasn’t outside. It was about me, about Richard, about twelve years I couldn’t get back.

“Open it,” I said.

He tapped on it and the message expanded.

They found Father’s will. It’s not what we thought. Meet me at the office now.

Mara’s door was still open behind me. She was watching us the way you watch a car accident you caused but can’t stop.

“I need to go,” I said.

Bruno nodded. “I’ll come with you.”

“No,” I said. “Stay with her. Make sure she talks to Cole. Make sure she doesn’t change her mind.”

He frowned. “You shouldn’t be alone for this.”

“I’m not alone,” I said. “I’ve got Daniel, and I’ve got you on the phone.”

That was enough for him. He kissed my forehead, went back into Mara’s room, and closed the door.

I walked out of the building. The man on the step was still pretending to read. He didn’t look up. Good. I didn’t want to talk to anyone who knew what I didn’t.

The street was quiet. The light had gone flat and gray. The city was starting to move again.

I called Daniel.

He picked up on the second ring.

“Where are you?” he said. No hello.

“Walking to the car,” I said. “What’s in the will?”

“Not over the phone,” he said. “Come to the office. Bring ID, and bring your lawyer if you have one.”

“I don’t have a lawyer,” I said.

“Get one,” Daniel said. “Fast.”

He hung up.

I drove to Daniel’s office. The building was dark except for the third floor. His light was on. His secretary’s desk was empty.

Daniel was waiting at the door. He stepped aside and let me in.

Daniel sat down and pushed the file toward me.

“Read it,” he said.

The document was dated two weeks before Father died. It was witnessed, notarized, and it looked real.

I read the first page.

Father left 60% of his estate to me.

Not Richard. Me.

The rest was split between a charity for domestic violence survivors and Daniel, as trustee.

Richard got nothing.

Unless I died without children.

Then it all went to Richard.

I stopped reading.

“That can’t be right,” I said.

“It is,” Daniel said. “I’ve had it verified. The original is with the probate court. It was filed the day after he died. Richard contested it. The case has been sealed for eleven months.”

“Sealed,” I said. “Why?”

“Because of what was in the addendum,” Daniel said.

He flipped the page.

There it was. A handwritten addendum, Father’s handwriting. I knew it. I’d seen it on birthday cards and grocery lists my whole life.

"If you are reading this, Richard has hurt you. I know but I didn’t act fast enough. I’m sorry. The money is yours. Use it to leave. Use it to disappear. Use it to make him pay. Don’t let him tell you what I would have wanted. I would have wanted you safe."

I read it twice.

My hands weren’t steady anymore.

“Eleven months,” I said. “He’s been sitting on this for eleven months.”

Daniel nodded. “Richard filed to have it thrown out on grounds of undue influence. He claimed Father wasn’t of sound mind. He produced a doctor’s note dated a month before the will was signed.”

“Did Father see that doctor?” I asked.

“No,” Daniel said. “The doctor never met him. The signature is forged.”

I looked up at Daniel.

“Why are you telling me this now?” I said.

“Because the seal was lifted today,” he said. “Cole’s unit pushed it. They needed the will as evidence for the RICO case. It shows pattern, motive, financial control.”

“And Richard?” I said.

“Richard doesn’t know yet,” Daniel said. “The court order went to his lawyer an hour ago. He’ll know by morning.”

I closed the file.

“So what do I do?” I said.

“You don’t do anything tonight,” Daniel said. “You go home, you sleep, and you let me file the motion to unfreeze the assets tomorrow.”

“Assets,” I said.

“Three point two million,” Daniel said. “Liquid, plus the house in Ikoyi, plus the investment portfolio.”

Three point two million.

Twelve years of asking for money for groceries. Twelve years of being told I was bad with finances. Twelve years of signing papers I didn’t understand because Richard said I didn’t need to.

All of it was mine.

It should have felt like victory.

It felt like a trap closing.

“Where did he get the doctor’s note?” I asked.

Daniel looked at me.

“From the same place he got everything else,” he said. “From inside.”

I knew what he meant.

Not directly, not the note itself. But she’d had access. She’d been in and out of Father’s house. She’d known when he was sick, when he was lucid, when to send Richard the opening.

I stood up.

“I need to talk to her,” I said.

“You can’t,” Daniel said. “She’s in custody now. Cole picked her up ten minutes ago. She agreed to testify. She’s being moved to a safe location.”

“Then I need to talk to Richard,” I said.

Daniel stood up too.

“No,” he said. “You don’t. Not until we have him. Not until the arrest is made.”

I looked at him.

“Why?” I said.

“Because if you confront him now, he’ll run,” Daniel said. “And if he runs, he takes everything with him. The money, the evidence, the case.”

I walked to the window.

Richard was out there somewhere. Probably in his office or looking at his phone, waiting for a message from his lawyer.

He’d been controlling me for twelve years.

He wouldn’t stop just because I had a piece of paper.

He’d come for me.

He’d come for the money.

He’d come for everything.

“Daniel,” I said.

“Yes,” he said.

“If he finds out tonight, what stops him from coming here?”

Daniel didn’t answer right away.

I picked up my bag.

“I’m going home,” I said.

“Good,” Daniel said. “I’ll call you in the morning.”

I walked out.

Bruno was waiting in the parking lot.

He’d left Mara. He’d broken the rule.

He saw my face and didn’t ask questions. He just opened the passenger door for me.

I got in and he started the car.

“Lisbon,” he said.

“Not yet,” I said.

He looked at me.

“Richard knows,” I said.

“How?” Bruno asked.

“He always knows,” I said.

My phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

I opened the message.

You think a piece of paper changes anything?

Come home now and alone.

No signature.

He didn’t need one.

I read it twice, then locked the screen.

Bruno saw my face go still.

“What is it?” he asked.

I turned the phone toward him.

He went quiet.

Then his hand moved to the gear shift.

“He’s not getting you alone,” Bruno said.

I shook my head.

“He already has me,” I said. “He just doesn’t know it yet.”

The car stayed parked.

Somewhere in the city, Richard was waiting for me to run.

I wasn’t going to.

I was going to make him come to me.