Then Michael paused.
He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a sealed envelope.
"He asked me to read it first," she said. "It's addressed to Andrew... and Lauren."
Andrew held his breath. Lauren smiled slightly.
Michael opened the letter.
—Andrew —he read—, if you're listening to this, it means I'm no longer here to protect you from what you chose to ignore.
Andrew jerked his head up.
Lauren stopped drumming her foot.
The room became heavier, as if the air itself had thickened.
Emily's words continued, firm and clear. Over the past year, she explained, things had started disappearing: money, jewelry, checks. At first, she doubted herself. She blamed her medication, her memory. But finally, she realized the truth was much worse.
Andrew's breathing became irregular.
"What is this?" he murmured.
Lauren let out a soft, disdainful laugh. "This is absurd. Your mother wasn't thinking straight..."
"I'm not finished," Michael said firmly.
Emily had hired a private detective.
Not out of anger. Not out of revenge.
But because he needed certainty; because he had to know if the threat came from outside… or from within his own house.
Michael began to list the evidence.
Pawn shop receipts.
Security recordings.
Fraudulent credit applications.
Audio recordings: Lauren's voice, pressuring Emily to sign documents while she was heavily medicated.
Andrew stared at one of the photographs in front of him: Lauren standing at a counter, selling jewelry that had belonged to her mother.
"No..." she whispered, shaking her head.
Lauren stood up abruptly. "That proves nothing. I was helping. That house was going to be ours anyway."
"It never was," Michael replied calmly.
Then came the final will.
Everything had been placed in a protected trust. I would retain lifetime residence in the house. Andrew would receive alimony, but only under strict conditions. And if he remained married to Lauren, all payments would cease unless a court confirmed that she did not have access to the funds.
Lauren blinked, the confusion morphing into something akin to panic.
—And one more condition— Michael added. —If anyone contests this will without just cause, they will receive one dollar.
For the first time, Lauren looked scared.
Andrew turned towards her slowly, with an empty, strange expression.
"Did you do it?" he asked.
Tears immediately filled her eyes. "I was trying to protect us."
"You called my mother's funeral on a holiday," she said quietly. "Was that also part of protecting us?"
She extended her hand towards him.
He stepped aside.
The chair behind her scraped noisily across the floor as she staggered backward.
CONTINUE READING...>>
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