Chapter 9 - THE AFTERMATH
The fallout was nuclear.
Once Margaret was in custody for attempted arson and breaking and entering, her leverage evaporated. Elise and I took the trust documents to the best estate lawyer in the county.
Because Margaret was facing felony charges directly related to the beneficiaries of the trust, the judge removed her as the executor. The court appointed an independent fiduciary, but I petitioned for Elise to be granted full access for Lily’s upbringing.
The town was scandalized. Thomas Vance, the "stoic, dependable farmer," was unmasked as a manipulative monster on the front page of the local paper. The community was shocked, but their pity didn't matter to me.
What mattered was that Elise finally got a driver's license. She got a bank account. She got a life.
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Margaret tried to fight the charges, but facing twenty years for attempted murder, she took a plea deal for arson and fraud. She was sentenced to eight years in a state penitentiary.
I went to visit her once, just to drop off a casserole dish at the prison front desk. I left a note on it: For the cafeteria.
