The Clause Hidden in Ethan’s Will
Chapter 02 - The Clause Hidden in Ethan’s Will
Martin insisted the red fiber came from a table ribbon. He allowed security to search his pockets and found nothing except his phone, wallet, and the key card to the foundation office.
Arthur wanted to believe him. Martin had managed the foundation’s finances for eleven years and had stood beside the family after Ethan died.
Victoria was less convinced.
“The cable was marked with red silk so someone could find it later,” she said. “The person who placed it planned to remove it after Serena fell.”
Lydia stepped down from the balcony. “You are accusing my brother in front of strangers.”
“I am asking why his name appears in a document Ethan never discussed.”
Serena opened the attachment. The temporary-trustee clause carried Ethan’s electronic signature and the seal of family attorney Malcolm Reed. Under its terms, Martin would control Serena’s shares if a doctor declared her unable to make decisions for more than forty-eight hours.
The clause had been created two weeks after Ethan’s death.
A dead man could not have signed it.
Malcolm was called to the ballroom. He examined the document and immediately denied preparing it. His legal seal had been copied from an older filing.
Then Arthur received another alert. Someone had scheduled an emergency board vote for midnight. If Martin gained Serena’s shares, he could approve the sale of three family clinics to Northstar Medical Holdings.
Serena had blocked that sale because Northstar planned to close the maternity center Ethan had built.
Martin’s face tightened. “The sale would protect the foundation from debt.”
“What debt?” Serena asked.
Victoria connected her tablet to the ballroom screen. She had spent the past month auditing the clinic accounts after finding unusual transfers. Twelve million dollars had disappeared into consulting fees paid to companies with no employees.
One company shared an address with a private account belonging to Martin.
Lydia stared at her brother. “You told me those payments covered the clinic expansion.”
“They did.”
“Then show us the contracts.”
Martin reached for his phone, but the screen had already gone dark. Someone had remotely erased it.
At that moment, the manor’s fire alarm began to ring.
Guests moved toward the exits, but Arthur ordered security to keep the staircase sealed. Smoke appeared near the foundation office on the second floor.
Victoria looked at the cable, the erased cameras, and the burning office.
“Someone is destroying the records,” she said.
Serena suddenly remembered the small silver key Ethan had hidden inside their daughter’s old music box before his death.
He had told her, “Use this only if the foundation ever chooses money over people.”
May you like
The music box was upstairs.
And the fire was spreading toward Ethan’s study.
