CHAPTER 5: THE STRATEGY
Mary showed up at 8 a.m. with coffee and a laptop.
"You look like you slept," she said, setting the tray on the kitchen counter.
"First good night in months," I admitted. "Something about getting rid of two hundred pounds of dead weight."
Mary laughed and opened her laptop. "Let's talk strategy. Because it's not over yet. Daniel and Ashley are going to fight. They're going to try everything—legal, emotional, physical. They're not going to let go easily."
I poured myself a cup of coffee. "What are they going to do first?"
"First, they'll try to dispute the trust. They'll claim you coerced Robert into signing documents while he was ill. They'll produce witnesses, false testimony, anything to cast doubt on your mental state."
"I have doctors who can prove otherwise. Robert's medical records show he was of sound mind until the very end."
"Good. But they'll also try to access the house. They might show up, demanding to be let in. They might claim they live here, that they have a right to their belongings."
"They don't live here. They moved out years ago."
"Doesn't matter. They'll try to create a scene. Create an incident they can use in court."
I thought about that. "Then I'll change the locks. Install cameras. Hire a security guard."
"Already done." Mary smiled. "I took the liberty of arranging it yesterday. There's a security team arriving at noon. And I filed a restraining order against both of them this morning."
"Restraining order?"
"They left you on a deserted road with no phone and no money. That's abandonment of a vulnerable adult. We have a solid case."
I sat down heavily in the kitchen chair. "I can't believe it's come to this. My own children."
"Sarah, they were never truly yours. Not the way you wanted them to be. They've been working against you for years. This was always going to happen. It was just a matter of timing."
I nodded slowly. She was right. I'd been in denial for a long time, hoping my children would turn into the people I wanted them to be. But people don't change. They just get better at hiding who they really are.
"What about the business?" I asked. "I want to sell it. Get rid of everything connected to them."
"Already in process. I've reached out to three potential buyers. We'll have offers by the end of the week. The employees will be taken care of—you and Robert were always good to them. They'll get severance and placement assistance."
"And the money?"
"The money is in accounts they can't touch. You can do anything you want with it. Travel. Donate to charity. Burn it in a bonfire. It's yours."
I took a long drink of coffee. "I'm not going to travel. I don't want to run away. I want to stay here. I want to build something new."
"Like what?"
"I don't know yet. Something that isn't theirs. Something that's just mine."
Mary smiled. "That sounds like a good plan. But first, we need to deal with the first wave of attacks. Daniel's already called his lawyer. I got a letter this morning."
She pulled a folded document out of her bag and slid it across the table.
I read it. It was a demand for an injunction, claiming I'd acted improperly as executor of the estate. It was full of legal jargon and threats.
"He's trying to bully me," I said.
"Of course he is. It's what he's always done. The difference is, now you have the power to push back."
I set the letter aside. "Let him sue me. Let him waste his money on lawyers. He'll run out eventually, and when he does, I'll be ready."
"That's the spirit," Mary said. "But there's something else you need to consider. Daniel's wife, Melissa. She's been pushing him. She's the one who suggested the assisted-living facility. She's also the one who set up the fake consulting company he's been using to embezzle."
"Melissa? I always thought she was just a quiet housewife."
"Quiet housewives don't establish offshore shell companies. She's been planning this for years. She made Daniel think it was his idea, but the paperwork tells a different story."
I leaned back in my chair. "So Melissa is the puppet master."
"Exactly. And she's going to be harder to beat because she's smarter than Daniel. She'll anticipate our moves. She'll have backup plans for her backup plans."
"Then we need to be smarter."
Mary nodded. "That's why I'm here. Robert and I worked on this together. He knew Melissa was dangerous long before you did. He just didn't want to worry you."
"How long?"
"Five years. Since the day Daniel brought her to Christmas dinner and she spent the entire meal asking about property values and insurance policies."
I remembered that dinner. I'd thought Melissa was just nervous. I'd made excuses for her. I'd given her the benefit of the doubt.
No more.
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"All right," I said, squaring my shoulders. "Tell me everything. What she's been planning, how she's been doing it, and how we can stop her."
Mary opened her laptop and began to talk.
