Chapter 6 - The Man with Silver Cufflinks
Richard did not deny it.
Back at the townhouse, he stood in the library while Emily held the recorder between them.
“Michael removed you from the will?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you not tell me?”
“Because I did not know until Nora accessed the probate filing this morning.”
Nora placed a copy of Michael’s registered will on the table.
The document had been signed two days before the accident. It appointed Margaret as executor, transferred Michael’s voting shares to the family trust, and removed Richard from every advisory or protective role.
Emily studied Michael’s signature.
“Is it real?”
“The initial examination suggests it may be,” Nora said.
“Then Michael changed everything willingly.”
“Or he believed he was signing something else.”
Richard poured a glass of water but did not drink it.
“Our mother spent years convincing Michael that I wanted control of the family company. When I refused to rescue one of her failing divisions, she showed him fabricated records suggesting I had profited from its collapse.”
“And he believed her.”
“He wanted to believe she could change. That made him easy to manipulate.”
Emily looked at the Continuity Assignment.
“If the registered will already gave her control, why did Margaret need this?”
“Because the will did not give her your personal property, guardianship authority, or the girls’ remaining trusts,” Nora explained. “The Continuity Assignment attempts to complete the transfer.”
Emily thought about the footage from the bank.
“The woman with the crescent tattoo stole whatever Michael placed in box B-417. Find her, and we may find the original will.”
Richard opened a file containing photographs from Michael’s funeral.
The crowd included executives, politicians, family friends, and household employees.
Julian Vale appeared in six images.
In one, he stood beside a dark-haired woman wearing gloves.
Her face was turned away, but a small black crescent was visible near her thumb.
Nora identified her within an hour.
Elena Voss.
Thirty-four years old.
Former legal assistant at Julian’s firm.
No current address.
Three sealed civil complaints.
A passport issued under another name.
“She disappeared the day after the funeral,” Nora said.
Richard enlarged the photograph.
Julian’s silver cufflinks reflected the chapel lights.
“Elena did not enter the bank alone,” he said. “Someone gave her Emily’s identification and biometric information.”
Emily felt sick.
“My passport was locked in Michael’s desk.”
“Margaret controlled the desk after the funeral,” Nora replied.
Emily looked at the photograph again.
“Where is Daniel Reeve?”
“The funeral director?”
“He signed the posthumous agreement. He also managed the cremation. We keep looking at Julian, but Reeve connects the document to Michael’s body.”
Richard instructed his security team to locate him.
They discovered that Daniel Reeve had closed his funeral home four days earlier and withdrawn nearly two million dollars from an account registered in the Cayman Islands.
His car was found at Logan Airport.
He had purchased a ticket to Madrid but never boarded the flight.
That afternoon, Julian Vale requested a private meeting.
Nora insisted it take place in her office with the conversation recorded.
Julian arrived without his silver cufflinks.
Richard noticed immediately.
“Where are the wolves?” he asked.
Julian sat across from them.
“I have worn many pairs of cufflinks.”
“You wore those at Michael’s funeral.”
“As did several men.”
Emily placed the photograph of Elena on the table.
“Where is she?”
“I do not know.”
“She worked for you.”
“Years ago.”
“She impersonated me at the bank.”
“That is an accusation, not a fact.”
Richard leaned forward.
“Michael recorded a message about the man with silver cufflinks.”
For the first time, Julian appeared genuinely afraid.
“What exactly did he say?”
“You tell us.”
Julian looked toward the recording device.
Then he lowered his voice.
“Margaret did not order Michael’s documents stolen.”
“Who did?” Emily asked.
“I cannot answer that.”
“You mean you will not.”
Julian’s hands tightened.
“You think Margaret controls this because you have only seen the part she was permitted to control.”
Richard’s gaze sharpened.
“Permitted by whom?”
Julian stood.
“This meeting is over.”
Nora blocked the door.
“You contacted us.”
“I made a mistake.”
Emily stepped in front of him.
“Was Michael alone when his car crashed?”
Julian stared at her.
“No.”
The room became silent.
“Who was with him?” she asked.
“I never saw the passenger.”
“How do you know there was one?”
“Because Michael called me from the road. I heard someone speaking beside him.”
“What did they say?”
Julian glanced toward Richard.
“One sentence.”
“What sentence?”
Julian’s face had gone pale.
“The wrong brother was supposed to die.”
Before anyone could stop him, Julian pulled the fire alarm.
The office erupted with sound.
Sprinklers burst from the ceiling. Employees poured into the corridor. In the confusion, Julian disappeared through the emergency stairwell.
Richard’s security team reached the street less than a minute later.
Julian was gone.
His abandoned briefcase remained beneath the conference table.
Inside it was an envelope addressed to Emily.
May you like
There was no letter.
Only Michael’s wedding ring.
