Sophia continued.
“But Lucas and I have so much to look forward to.”
Lucas suddenly became very interested in his wineglass.
“Next month,” Sophia announced, “we’ll begin our new life at Willow Creek House. Arthur has been incredibly generous in arranging for the property to become ours.”
Clara turned sharply toward me.
“Arthur?”
I shook my head once.
Sophia did not notice.
“And Lucas’s company is expanding as well. He’ll soon have the entire eighth floor of the Grand Building.”
Applause began around the room.
I heard almost none of it.
Because Sophia had just mentioned something she had no legitimate way of knowing.
The eighth floor.
That space had recently become available.
The proposed lease expansion was confidential.
Only Lucas, my attorney, and I had discussed it.
I rose from the table.
Clara looked worried.
“Where are you going?”
“To make a phone call.”
The Files They Were Never Supposed to See
I found a quiet room near the library and called Elias Vance, my attorney of almost twenty years.
He answered immediately.
“Arthur? Shouldn’t you be celebrating?”
“Freeze Lucas’s trust payment.”
Silence.
“Tonight?”
“Tonight.”
“What else?”
“The Willow Creek arrangement.”
“All right.”
“And cancel negotiations on the Grand Building expansion.”
Elias’s voice changed.
“What happened?”
“Lucas and Sophia know details they should not know.”
He paused.
“Give me a few minutes.”
While he worked, I called security at our home.
Because of previous insurance requirements, the study and exterior corridors were monitored.
I asked for recordings from the previous month.
Within twenty minutes, Elias called me back.
“I think you need to see what I just received.”
The files appeared on my phone.
Three evenings earlier, while Clara and I had been out to dinner, Lucas entered my study using the security code I had given him years before.
Sophia followed.
The footage showed Lucas opening my filing cabinet.
Then Sophia began photographing documents.
Not one document.
Dozens.
Property records.
Trust papers.
Corporate ownership files.
Lease agreements.
She even photographed documents connected to Blackwood Manor.
I watched the footage twice.
The second viewing hurt more.
Because Lucas did not look hesitant.
He knew exactly where to search.
Elias called again.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Do you remember Lucas asking me about transferring inherited assets into a spouse’s joint ownership?”
“Yes.”
“He also asked whether your trust restrictions would disappear after inheritance.”
I gripped the phone tighter.
“At the time, I assumed he was trying to understand estate planning. Given what we know now…”
