Chapter 2 - THE SISTER-IN-LAW'S SECRET
I stormed into the main house, my funeral heels sinking into the mud, my mind racing. Margaret’s pushiness at the funeral suddenly took on a sinister new light.
I ignored her call and went straight into Thomas’s home office. I bypassed the filing cabinet and went for the floor safe hidden under the rug. Thomas thought I didn't know the combination, but a wife of twenty years knows which dates her husband cares about. It wasn't our anniversary. It was the date he bought this farm. 04-12-01.
The heavy steel door clicked open.
Inside was a thick manila folder labeled Trust Documents. I ripped it open.
Thomas had a $1.5 million secret life insurance policy I knew nothing about. But the beneficiary wasn't me. It was a trust set up for "Lily Vance." And the sole executor and trustee of that account? Margaret Vance.
My blood ran cold. Margaret knew. She had known everything.
She wanted me to sell the farm and leave town so she could sweep Elise and Lily under the rug, take control of the $1.5 million, and dole it out however she saw fit—or keep it for herself.
The front door chimed. I shoved the papers back into the safe and slammed it shut just as Margaret walked into the hallway, using the spare key I had given her years ago.
May you like
"Clara?" she called out, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "I brought you some more casseroles. We really need to talk to the realtor today."
I stepped out of the office, wiping the dust from my hands. "Margaret. What a surprise. Tell me, do you prefer your casseroles baked, or bought with stolen trust funds?"
