Chapter 8 - The Funeral in the Rain
Amelia returned to Charleston eleven hours after her father's death.
Nathaniel met her at the airport.
He didn't speak until she reached him.
Then he wrapped his arms around her.
Amelia remained rigid for three seconds.
Four.
Five.
Then she broke.
"My last message to him was angry."
Nathaniel held her tighter.
"I told him if he didn't want me home, I wouldn't come."
"He knew."
"I should've known."
"You did know. You spent a week trying to reach him."
"I should've gotten there."
"You were on another continent."
"I should've gotten there."
Nathaniel did not argue again.
At Hart House, Cassandra had already changed the locks.
Martin stood on the front steps holding a court filing.
"She obtained temporary authority over the property."
"Based on what?" Amelia demanded.
"A will amendment."
Nathaniel's face hardened.
"The one Thomas said was fraudulent?"
"A newer one."
"Signed when?"
"Three days before his death."
Amelia stared at him.
"Was he conscious?"
"According to the witnesses."
"Who witnessed it?"
Martin looked toward the house.
"Cassandra and Julian."
Nathaniel laughed once without humor.
"Convenient."
The will amendment reportedly transferred Thomas's controlling interest in Hart Maritime to a charitable management trust overseen by Cassandra.
Julian was named legal administrator.
Amelia received several personal items.
Eleanor's jewelry.
A small property outside Savannah.
And five percent of Thomas's remaining liquid assets.
It was designed to look generous.
Designed to look plausible.
Designed to make anyone questioning it appear greedy.
Cassandra invited Amelia inside only after reporters arrived.
"You should think about how this looks," she whispered.
"My father is dead."
"Exactly. Don't turn his funeral into a lawsuit."
"You forged his will."
Cassandra's eyes became cold.
"Prove it."
Amelia wanted to strike her.
Instead she remembered Thomas.
Choose the truth.
She stepped back.
"We will."
Cassandra smiled.
"No, Amelia. You won't."
She leaned closer.
"Because while you were playing soldier, I was here."
Amelia stared at her.
Cassandra continued.
"I took him to appointments. I sat beside his bed. I handled his company. He saw who actually cared."
"You isolated him."
"He chose me."
Julian entered the hallway.
For one moment he and Amelia looked at each other.
There had been a time when Amelia knew every line of his face.
Now she saw a stranger.
"Tell her," Cassandra said.
Julian hesitated.
"Thomas changed his mind."
Amelia almost pitied him.
"How much did she promise you?"
His expression hardened.
"Not everything is about money."
"With you, Julian, it eventually is."
The funeral took place two days later.
Cassandra attempted to control that too.
She chose the flowers.
The program.
The speakers.
The seating.
Amelia refused to fight over any of it.
She made only one demand.
She would stand beside her father's grave in uniform.
Cassandra laughed when she heard.
"Of course she will."
Amelia ignored her.
Nathaniel planned to attend quietly.
But on the morning of the funeral, a security emergency involving a federal investigation delayed him in Washington.
"I'll get there," he told Amelia.
"If you don't, it's okay."
"It's not okay."
"Nathaniel."
"I'll get there."
Rain began before the service.
By the graveside, nearly two hundred mourners surrounded Thomas's coffin.
Amelia heard speeches describing her father as visionary, generous, determined.
All true.
None enough.
When the minister finished, people moved toward Amelia.
Employees hugged her.
Veterans saluted.
An elderly dockworker named Samuel Reed held both her hands.
"Your father gave me a job when no one else would."
Amelia swallowed.
"He talked about you."
Samuel smiled.
"He talked about you more."
Cassandra watched every interaction.
Something about the sympathy directed toward Amelia seemed to irritate her.
Then a funeral assistant accidentally dropped several documents while moving the registration table.
Pages scattered across the grass.
Amelia saw her name printed near the bottom of the family notice.
Cassandra approached.
"No wonder Julian chose me."
The confrontation unfolded exactly as Amelia would remember it for the rest of her life.
The insult.
The umbrella.
The gloves.
The laughter.
You're just a bitter old hag.
And then the black car stopped.
Nathaniel stepped out.
"Is anyone insulting my wife?"
Cassandra looked as though someone had removed the ground beneath her.
Julian whispered, "Wife?"
Nathaniel reached Amelia.
He placed the umbrella above her.
Then he took her hand.
His wedding ring was visible.
Cassandra's face twisted.
"When did this happen?"
Nathaniel didn't look at her.
"Seven months ago."
Julian stared at Amelia.
"You married him?"
Amelia met his gaze.
"You ended our engagement. Did you expect me to submit monthly updates?"
Several mourners covered smiles.
Nathaniel looked at Cassandra.
"Now we should discuss something less entertaining."
Cassandra lifted her chin.
"What?"
"The document filed seventy-two hours before Thomas Hart died."
Her confidence returned.
"Thomas signed it."
Nathaniel nodded.
"Interesting."
"It was witnessed."
"By you and Julian."
"Yes."
Nathaniel looked around at the mourners.
"Then perhaps both of you can explain why the document's embedded certificate was created six months before Thomas supposedly signed it."
Julian's face drained.
Cassandra recovered first.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You will."
She stepped closer.
"Are you threatening me?"
"No."
Nathaniel's expression remained calm.
"I'm informing you that Thomas Hart expected someone to alter his estate."
Cassandra stopped.
Amelia looked at him.
Nathaniel continued.
"And before he died, he left instructions for exactly what should happen next."
For the first time, fear appeared in Cassandra's eyes.
Nathaniel leaned closer.
"Enjoy the funeral, Ms. Vale."
May you like
He looked toward Thomas's grave.
"Because tomorrow the audit begins."
