Chapter 4 - The Reading
I survived the funeral by completely ignoring Mark and his entitled family.
Diane had actually complained about the quality of the catered food at the reception.
Melissa had spent the entire afternoon browsing luxury car websites on her phone.
Now, we were sitting in the polished conference room of Arthur Vance's law firm.
Mark sat beside me, bouncing his leg with undisguised greed.
Arthur adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses and opened my father's thick leather binder.
"Walter Hail's estate is currently valued at roughly twelve million dollars," Arthur announced.
Mark let out a loud gasp and slapped his hand triumphantly on the mahogany table.
"I knew it," Mark cheered, completely disregarding the fact that a man had just died.
Arthur raised his hand to demand absolute silence in the room.
"However, there was a final amendment made just forty-eight hours before Walter passed."
Mark stopped smiling immediately.
"What kind of amendment?" Mark asked defensively.
Arthur looked directly at me with a steady, reassuring gaze.
"The entire twelve million dollars has been placed into an irrevocable blind trust."
Arthur flipped to the next page of the legal document.
"Clare is the sole beneficiary, but she cannot access a single penny of this money while she remains legally married to Mark."
The silence in the room became incredibly suffocating.
If I stayed with my husband, the money would remain permanently locked away.
Mark's face turned a dangerous shade of crimson.
He slammed his fists on the table and stood up aggressively.
"That is illegal, and I will contest this garbage will in court," Mark screamed.
May you like
Arthur remained perfectly calm.
"You cannot contest it, Mark, especially since we know exactly what you did to Walter's heart medication."
