Chapter 2 - The Recording Names The Real Plan
Marcus stopped moving the instant his own voice filled the dining room.
“Once she signs, everything is mine.”
Ethan stood between us, one hand braced against the ruined table while wine ran through broken crystal and overturned plates.
My cheek burned where Marcus had struck me.
I held my phone with both hands.
The recording continued.
A second voice appeared.
Harrison Vale, our family estate adviser.
“You still need Olivia’s consent.”
Marcus answered, “She won’t know what she’s signing.”
Nobody moved.
My mother, Victoria, went completely still.
The recording was not simply about the will.
It was about a family settlement agreement scheduled for the following morning.
Marcus had spent weeks telling us the agreement would “simplify probate” and protect Grant Industrial from uncertainty.
My lawyer, Rebecca Sloan, had told me not to sign until she compared every page against Father’s original estate documents.
Marcus had called that unnecessary.
Mother had called it selfish.
Now his own voice explained why he was in such a hurry.
May you like
The forged document created the lie.
My signature was supposed to make that lie far harder to undo.
