Chương 6
“I never signed the amendment he wanted,” I said.
“What would the amendment have done?”
“Given him broader authority to move assets.”
“Did you have independent counsel?”
“My grandmother’s attorney explained the trust to me when she died.”
“Do you still have that attorney’s contact information?”
“Yes.”
That was the first useful thing I had said in twenty minutes.
I searched for Margaret Kline.
Her number was still saved.
I called.
A receptionist answered and told me Ms. Kline was in court.
“This is Claire Shaw Bennett.”
There was a pause.
The receptionist’s tone changed.
“One moment, Ms. Bennett.”
I glanced at Renee.
She noticed too.
A man came on the line instead.
“This is Evan Price, Ms. Kline’s associate.”
“I need to speak with Margaret.”
“I understand.”
“Then put me through.”
“She is unavailable until late afternoon.”
“I’m in the hospital, and I think someone forged documents involving my trust and my house.”
Silence.
Not surprise.
Something colder.
“What hospital?”
I sat straighter.
“Why?”
“Because Ms. Kline has been trying to reach you since yesterday.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“What happened yesterday?”
“I don’t want to discuss privileged matters without confirming your identity.”
“You called me.”
“You called our office.”
He was right.
I almost snapped at him anyway.
“What do you need?”
He asked for information only I was likely to know about my grandmother’s estate.
The name of the commercial property in Dayton.
The month the trust was executed.
The first name of the accountant who had handled the estate tax filings.
I answered all three.
His voice loosened slightly.
“Ms. Bennett, did you sign any amendment to the Eleanor Shaw Family Trust in the last six months?”
“No.”
“Did you execute a power of attorney in favor of your father?”
“No.”
“Did you authorize your husband to sign financial documents for you?”
“No.”
Renee stopped writing again.
Evan exhaled into the receiver.
“All right.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means we need to speak in person.”
“No.”
“Ms. Bennett—”
“Everybody keeps telling me we’ll talk later or somewhere else, and every time that happens, somebody takes something.”
His silence told me the sentence had reached him.
“Tell me what you can tell me now.”
“We received a document yesterday afternoon purporting to amend your trust.”
My stomach dropped.
“Signed by me?”
“Yes.”
“It wasn’t.”
“We suspected that.”
“Why?”
“Because the signature packet included a notarization dated last Friday.”
“So?”
“You spoke with Ms. Kline that morning.”
I searched my memory.
Then it came back.
Margaret calling while I was standing in line at a coffee shop.
She had asked whether Dad was still pressuring me.
I told her yes.
She told me not to sign anything without sending it to her first.
I had joked that my father would have to drug me.
The memory struck hard enough that I stopped breathing.
“Claire?” Renee said.
I put one finger up.
“What did I tell Margaret that day?”
Evan answered cautiously.
“I wasn’t on the call.”
“Look at her notes.”
“I can’t—”
“Please.”
Keyboard sounds followed.
Then nothing.
“Mr. Price.”
“She recorded that you declined to amend the trust and asked her to prepare a letter confirming that your father had no authority to execute documents on your behalf.”
I stared at the severed restraint on the bed.
“What was in the amendment?”
“It would have appointed your father as special administrative trustee for certain transactions.”
“What transactions?”
“Transfers, pledges, and refinancing involving trust-held shares and properties.”
“Could he use it to cover company debt?”
“If valid and if other conditions were met, it could give him considerably more flexibility.”
“Was it valid?”
“We had not accepted it as valid.”
“Had?”
“We received another communication this morning.”
Renee’s eyes met mine.
“From whom?”
“Thomas Mercer’s counsel.”
The room seemed to narrow around the name.
“What did they want?”
“They requested confirmation that the amendment had been recorded in our files.”
“Why would Mercer care?”
“I can’t responsibly answer that yet.”
“Does he have some claim against my trust?”
“Not one that existed under the documents Ms. Kline prepared.”
“Under other documents?”
Another pause.
“Possibly.”
I closed my eyes.
“How much trouble is my father in?”
“I don’t know the full extent.”
“That means you know some of it.”
“I know the company has been under financial pressure.”
“That isn’t new.”
“This may be more serious than ordinary pressure.”
“Bankruptcy?”
“I’m not going to speculate.”
“Lawsuits?”
“There are creditor issues.”
“How many?”
“I don’t have authority to discuss company matters that aren’t your legal file.”
“Can you tell me if my trust was used as collateral?”
“No perfected security interest against your trust assets appears in the materials we maintain.”
The wording was careful enough to scare me.
“But someone tried.”
“I believe someone was attempting to create authority that could permit transactions which you have told me you did not approve.”
I looked at Renee.
She mouthed, Write his name.
I typed Evan Price into the notes app.
“Can Margaret come to the hospital?”
“Do not call my father.”
“We represent you regarding the trust.”
“Do not call Daniel either.”
“We won’t.”
“And Mercer?”
“We will not disclose this conversation without your authorization unless legally required.”
“Was Mercer supposed to buy my house?”
Evan hesitated longer this time.
“We saw no house transaction in the trust file.”
“I have a recorded deed transferring it to Mercer Residential Holdings.”
“That is separate from the trust.”
“I know.”
“Do you own the home personally?”
“With Daniel.”
“Send nothing to me yet.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“If the document may be fraudulent, preserve it where it is and let counsel advise how to collect it.”
Everyone had started telling me not to touch my own life.
I understood the reasons.
I still hated it.
Evan continued.
“Ms. Bennett, there’s something else.”
“What?”
“Ms. Kline received a voicemail from Thomas Mercer late yesterday.”
My pulse climbed again.
“What did he say?”
May you like
“I have not heard the recording personally.”
“Read the note.”
