Chapter 6 - Vincent Finds A Petition Bearing His Name
Detective Hale found something in Ryan’s home office.
A draft petition seeking emergency guardianship over Emily.
It alleged severe prenatal psychiatric deterioration.
It claimed Emily could not manage finances or medical decisions.
Attached was a proposed declaration from Samuel Kerr.
And another from Linda.
Vincent read the final page.
A paragraph said Emily’s father supported the petition.
Vincent had never seen it.
His name appeared beneath a signature line.
Unsigned.
Ryan had not filed the petition yet.
Why prepare it?
Emily had inherited substantial assets from her mother.
A trust worth approximately twelve million dollars.
Vincent had structured it years earlier so Emily controlled
distributions after age thirty.
She was twenty-nine.
Her thirtieth birthday was six weeks away.
Ryan knew.
If Emily were found legally incapacitated, control would not
automatically pass to him.
The trust named an independent fiduciary.
So guardianship alone did not give Ryan the money.
That complicated the apparent motive.
Then Vincent’s attorney read the trust amendment.
If Emily became incapacitated, her spouse could request funds for her
household and child, subject to trustee approval.
Not ownership.
But access.
Ryan had already drafted a request for $1.8 million to purchase a larger
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home “for Emily’s therapeutic stability.”
The property he selected was titled in a company he controlled.
