Chapter 5 - THE TRUSTEE’S AUDIT
Monday morning,
Jerome called with an update.
“Beatrice Vance wants to meet with both of you,”
he said.
“Individually.”
“She’s launching a formal inquiry into the 'good faith' status.”
I met Beatrice in a quiet,
wood-paneled library at the estate office.
She was seventy,
wearing a pearl necklace that looked like it could anchor a ship,
and eyes that saw through everything.
She had a folder on the table between us.
“Evelyn loved you,
Avery,”
she said,
not wasting any time.
“She told me you were the only thing keeping Scott from drifting away.”
I sat straight,
my hands folded in my lap.
“I tried,
Beatrice.”
“Jerome tells me Scott filed for divorce six weeks after the funeral.”
“Yes.”
“And that he attempted to mislead you about the terms of the will.”
“Yes.”
Beatrice leaned forward,
her gaze intensifying.
“Scott tells me you were the one who wanted out.”
“He says he’s trying to reconcile,
but you’re being 'difficult'.”
I didn't flinch.
I opened my bag and pulled out the shoebox receipts.
I also pulled out a printed transcript of the text messages from the day of the presentation.
Pack your things. It’s my house now.
I laid them on the table.
“This was his good faith,
Beatrice.”
“He waited until the moment he thought he was rich enough to be cruel.”
Beatrice read the messages.
She looked at the receipts showing I had paid his gambling debts and his business losses.
Her mouth thinned into a hard,
straight line.
“He’s a fool,”
she whispered.
“He’s his father all over again.”
“Evelyn knew it.”
“That’s why she put the clause in.”
She closed the folder.
“The inheritance is officially frozen for the full twelve months.”
“The house mortgage will be paid by the estate,
but Scott is not allowed to sell it or leverage it.”
“And Avery?”
“Yes?”
“There is a secondary provision.”
I looked up.
“If the marriage fails due to the grandson’s proven infidelity or bad faith,”
“the trustee has the discretion to reallocate up to fifty percent of the principal to the spouse.”
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“She did that?”
“Evelyn knew how to protect an investment,”
Beatrice said.
“And you,
Avery,
were her favorite investment.”
I walked out of the meeting feeling like the ground had finally stopped shaking.
Scott was in the waiting room.
He jumped up when he saw me,
his face full of hope.
“How did it go?”
he asked.
I didn't answer.
I walked past him,
the scent of his desperation trailing behind me.
He was about to walk into a room with a woman who had just seen his soul through a series of text messages.
I got into my car and drove to the office.
Growth was control.
May you like
And I was about to become very,
very wealthy.
