\u201cAnd now we handle practical matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inside, two attorneys waited beside documents. Arthur\u2019s brother,\u00a0Jaxson<\/b>, lounged near the fireplace, drinking Audrey\u2019s whiskey. On the table sat a transfer agreement giving Arthur control of Audrey\u2019s charitable foundation, investment portfolio, and the lake house she had inherited from my husband.<\/p>\n
Arthur tapped the signature line. \u201cAudrey named me sole beneficiary. These papers simply prevent delays.\u201d<\/p>\n
I placed the empty estate folder on the table. \u201cWhere is the original will?\u201d<\/p>\n
His smile hardened. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to understand everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
One attorney avoided my eyes. The other,\u00a0Thomas Landry<\/b>, slid me a waiver surrendering my right to challenge the estate.<\/p>\n
Arthur leaned close. \u201cSign it,\u00a0Eleanor<\/b>. Audrey is gone. Don\u2019t embarrass yourself by pretending you matter now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jaxson laughed.<\/p>\n
I picked up the pen, then deliberately dropped it. While Arthur bent to retrieve it, I pressed the button on the recorder inside my sleeve.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou arranged the cremation quickly,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAudrey hated funerals.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe also hated fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
His jaw flexed.<\/p>\n
Thomas interrupted. \u201cMrs.\u00a0Sterling<\/b>, grief can distort memory.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo can forged documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence struck the room.<\/p>\n
Arthur recovered first. \u201cCareful.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him. \u201cDid Audrey sign these before or after you replaced her heart medication?\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s face remained composed, but his thumb began rubbing the edge of Audrey\u2019s watch. \u201cYou\u2019re confused.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat must run in the family,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
He ordered the attorneys outside, then locked the door. The mask vanished.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have no idea what Audrey put me through,\u201d he hissed. \u201cShe was going to expose me, destroy my career, and leave me with nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you frightened her into obedience?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI protected what was mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when she stopped cooperating?\u201d<\/p>\n
He stepped closer. \u201cOld women fall. Their memories fail. Their homes catch fire. Sign the waiver.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was: threat, motive, arrogance.<\/p>\n
I signed.<\/p>\n
Arthur exhaled and smiled.<\/p>\n
What he did not know was that the waiver had been replaced overnight with a visually identical evidence copy prepared by my former office. What he did not know was that Julian had traced seven million dollars from Audrey\u2019s foundation into shell companies controlled by Arthur and Jaxson. What he did not know was that the medical examiner had secured a court order before the crematorium processed Audrey\u2019s remains. Her blood showed a dangerous drug interaction caused by pills prescribed under a false physician identifier.<\/p>\n
And what he knew least of all was that Thomas Landry had contacted me at dawn.<\/p>\n
Arthur had forced him to prepare the forged will. Thomas had agreed to cooperate in exchange for protection.<\/p>\n
As Arthur poured champagne, celebrating my surrender, Thomas reentered and placed his phone face down beside the documents.<\/p>\n
A tiny green light blinked. The investigators were listening live.<\/p>\n
Arthur raised his glass. \u201cTo moving on.\u201d<\/p>\n
I lifted mine. \u201cTo consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n