I stared at the front door of the home from which my belongings had already been removed.
“So they couldn’t sell it?” I asked.
“They could sign a contract,” Harrison said.
“They could promise it to someone.
They could even arrange movers and pretend the matter was complete.
What they could not do was convey property they did not own.”
The younger attorney added, “The title cannot legally pass based on the documents William executed.
The trust’s recorded interest prevents it.
Notice has already been sent to the parties handling the transaction.”
William’s face went gray.
“Already?”
Harrison looked at him.
“Your mother contacted my office two weeks ago asking questions about old property records.”
Margaret’s head snapped up.
“I did no such thing.”
“You spoke with my assistant twice.
You gave your name.”
Her composure cracked for half a second.
Then she attacked.
“I was trying to clean up Victoria’s mess.
She was constantly interfering in this marriage.”
I almost laughed.
Interfering.
That was what Margaret called the woman who had apparently rescued her son’s home when his business failed.
William turned to his mother.
“You told me the trust had expired.”
Margaret lowered her voice.
“Because that’s what I was told.”
“By whom?”
She did not answer.
Harrison closed the folder.
“Mr.
Hale, whether you understood the document or chose not to understand it does not change the recorded ownership.”
William ran both hands through his hair.
“I already signed everything with the buyers.”
“Then you will need your own attorney.”
That sentence seemed to frighten him more than anything else.
Until then, William had been treating the afternoon like an unpleasant but controlled transition.
He had expected me to cry, sign the divorce papers, collect my storage information, and disappear.
Now every decision he had made was coming back through the front door.
Margaret pointed at me.
“She knew.”
I actually looked behind me, as if there might be another woman named Caroline standing in the driveway.
“I knew what?”
“About the trust.
About the inheritance.
This is some trap.”
“I learned about the inheritance today.”
“Convenient.”
That was when I remembered the cream-colored envelope in my hand.
Victoria had written my name across it.
For Caroline, if Margaret finally gets her way.
My fingers trembled as I opened it.
Inside were three handwritten pages.
I knew my grandmother’s script so well that seeing it made my throat tighten.
Harrison stepped back.
