The next morning, I arrived for the will reading ten minutes early.
Margaret had told me to do exactly what Dad wrote: do not argue.
Let them speak first.
So I did.
Daniel and Vanessa arrived together.
Vanessa wore cream and carried a structured leather handbag.
Daniel wore the navy suit he used to save for important clients.
Seeing him dressed that way in a room where my father’s affairs would be discussed made something inside me go very still.
Ethan arrived alone.
He avoided my eyes.
That told me almost everything I needed to know.
Vanessa sat beside Daniel and crossed her legs.
‘You look tired, Claire,’ she said.
I looked at her.
‘I was gardening.’
For the first time, uncertainty crossed her face.
Only for a second.
Margaret entered carrying two folders.
One was the ordinary estate file.
The other was the folder from the box.
Vanessa noticed it immediately.
Daniel did too.
Ethan went pale.
Margaret began with the will.
Dad left personal belongings and financial assets according to a series of specific instructions.
Ethan received a substantial inheritance.
So did I.
Daniel received nothing.
Vanessa received nothing.
Neither of them reacted at first.
Then Daniel leaned forward.
‘I think there’s a problem.’
Margaret folded her hands.
‘What problem?’
Daniel looked at Ethan.
Ethan swallowed.
Vanessa answered instead.
‘Arthur was extremely ill when some of these decisions were made.
There were concerns about his medication and mental condition.’
My father’s name in her mouth made my jaw tighten.
I said nothing.
Margaret asked, ‘Whose concerns?’
Vanessa hesitated.
‘Family concerns.’
‘You are not family.’
Daniel shifted in his chair.
‘I was his son-in-law for fifteen years.’
‘Former son-in-law,’ Margaret said.
Daniel’s face hardened.
Ethan finally spoke.
‘I noticed Dad getting confused.’
It was the first outright lie.
I looked at my brother.
His eyes stayed on the table.
Margaret asked him for examples.
He gave vague ones.
