Chapter 7 - The Second Trust
The second trust was created when Hannah died.
Daniel remembered nothing about signing it.
According to Rebecca, that was because he had not.
Thomas created it himself.
Hannah had carried a life insurance policy through her employer.
Daniel believed the payout had been $250,000.
He used some to pay hospital expenses.
The remainder went into savings.
What he never knew was that Hannah’s employer provided an additional accidental-death benefit because her aneurysm occurred during a company-sponsored conference.
The additional payout was $600,000.
Thomas discovered the policy during probate.
Daniel never received it.
Margaret did.
“How?” Daniel demanded.
Rebecca looked toward Margaret.
“She presented herself as administrator for Hannah’s secondary estate.”
Daniel stared at his mother.
“That’s impossible.”
Margaret’s expression hardened.
“You were barely functioning.”
“You stole my wife’s insurance?”
“I protected it.”
“For whom?”
“For the family.”
Lily covered her mouth.
Rebecca opened another document.
“Thomas discovered what happened six months later. By then, Margaret had moved most of the funds through several accounts.”
“How much recovered?”
“Four hundred and ten thousand.”
“And the rest?”
Rebecca looked down.
“Gone.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
He remembered those months after Hannah’s death.
He barely slept.
Some mornings he could not remember brushing his teeth.
Lily woke crying every night asking when her mother was coming back.
Margaret offered to handle paperwork.
Daniel had thanked her.
The memory now felt poisonous.
“You came into my house while I was grieving.”
Margaret said nothing.
“You sat at my table.”
Still nothing.
“You told me you were helping me.”
“I was.”
“You stole from my dead wife.”
Margaret’s voice suddenly rose.
“I kept you alive.”
Daniel stared at her.
“You were useless after Hannah died. Someone had to make decisions.”
“So you took six hundred thousand dollars?”
“You would have wasted it.”
“On what?”
Margaret looked toward Lily.
“Her.”
The room went completely silent.
Lily’s face changed.
Daniel’s voice became almost inaudible.
“Say that again.”
Margaret realized too late what she had revealed.
She tried to recover.
“You were obsessed with giving Lily everything because you felt guilty.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“She lost her mother.”
“And Denise lost a marriage. Brianna needed things too.”
Denise looked sick.
“Mom, stop.”
Margaret turned.
“I helped you.”
“With stolen money!”
“I did what Thomas refused to do.”
Rebecca closed the file.
“Thomas recovered enough to establish the second trust.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Who is the beneficiary?”
Rebecca glanced toward Lily.
“She is.”
Margaret made a furious sound.
Rebecca continued.
“Thomas combined the recovered funds with other investments.”
“How much is it worth?”
Rebecca hesitated.
“Approximately 1.8 million dollars.”
Lily stared at her.
“I have what?”
Margaret suddenly moved toward the desk.
Daniel blocked her.
“You knew,” he said.
Margaret glared at Rebecca.
“That trust was supposed to remain sealed.”
Rebecca’s eyes narrowed.
“How do you know what was supposed to remain sealed?”
Margaret stopped.
Daniel felt the shift immediately.
Rebecca had never told Margaret the terms.
Thomas had never told Daniel.
Yet Margaret knew.
Rebecca slowly stood.
“Someone gave you confidential estate information.”
Margaret’s face went blank.
Daniel looked at her.
“Who?”
She said nothing.
His phone rang.
Aaron.
Daniel answered.
“What?”
Aaron’s voice sounded urgent.
“I traced the second twenty-one-thousand-dollar withdrawal.”
Daniel looked toward Margaret.
“Where did it go?”
“A private investigator.”
Daniel frowned.
“For what?”
Aaron paused.
“To find someone named Evelyn Carter.”
Margaret abruptly moved toward the door.
Daniel caught her arm.
“Who is Evelyn?”
May you like
Margaret looked back at him.
And whispered, “Someone your father should have taken to the grave.”
