Chapter 7 - The Missing Trust
The thief had ignored cash, electronics, and jewelry.
Whoever entered Samuel's office wanted one thing.
Henry's file.
Fortunately, Samuel kept certified copies elsewhere.
Unfortunately, the burglary proved someone was desperate.
Police questioned Marcus.
He denied involvement.
Vanessa denied involvement.
Then Lily received a message from an unknown number.
Walk away from Elaine's money or you'll regret it.
She didn't tell me immediately.
I discovered it when her phone lit up on my kitchen counter.
For the first time in my life, I became furious with Lily.
Not because she had done something wrong.
Because she was protecting me by putting herself in danger.
“You tell me everything from now on.”
“Mom—”
“Everything.”
She nodded.
Rachel arranged security cameras around my house.
Two nights later, one recorded a man approaching my back door at 2:13 a.m.
He wore a hood.
He tested the lock.
Then he looked directly at the camera.
It was Trevor Hale.
Vanessa's brother.
Police arrested him the following afternoon.
What Trevor told investigators shattered Vanessa's story.
She had ordered him to retrieve documents.
She had told him Marcus would eventually inherit millions.
She had promised him $100,000 if he helped her secure control of the trust.
But Trevor had another surprise.
He had recorded Vanessa.
Dozens of conversations.
In one recording, she said:
“Once Elaine is declared incompetent, Marcus controls her assets. Once Marcus controls them, I control Marcus.”
When Marcus heard the recording, he vomited in the courthouse bathroom.
Yet Vanessa still had one weapon left.
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She claimed Marcus had planned everything with her.
And she had text messages that appeared to prove it.
