Chapter 6
The news broke the next morning.
Nashville businessman fakes funeral to expose alleged poisoning.
That headline made everything sound ridiculous.
It was not.
It was horrifying.
Our family photo appeared online within hours.
Dad in a navy suit.
Claire beside him.
Me on the other side.
All of us smiling at a charity event two years earlier.
People commented like they knew us.
Some called Dad a genius.
Some called him cruel.
Some called Claire a monster.
Some asked if I had known.
I turned off my phone.
Robert handled calls.
Detective Greene handled media.
Dad’s attorney, Alicia Grant, arrived at the hospital with two rolling briefcases and the energy of a woman who could turn grief into paperwork.
She had been Dad’s private attorney for three weeks.
She apologized to me immediately.
“I wanted to contact you sooner.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Your father asked me not to until the trigger condition.”
“The casket.”
“Yes.”
I hated the phrase trigger condition.
I hated how neatly lawyers could describe trauma.
Alicia explained the estate trap.
Dad had suspected Claire planned to finalize a forged transfer after his death.
The family company.
The lake house.
His investment accounts.
A charitable foundation.
He believed the funeral would make her feel safe enough to move documents quickly.
He was right.
While we were at the church, Claire’s laptop attempted to access Dad’s estate portal.
The login failed because Alicia had frozen it.
Minutes later, she received an alert.
Someone tried to upload a new will.
A forged one.
Leaving almost everything to Claire.
And cutting me out entirely.
The new will claimed I was “emotionally unstable and financially irresponsible.”
I almost laughed.
Of course.
When thieves steal from women, they often start by calling them unstable.
Alicia showed me the forged will.
My name appeared in one paragraph.
My father had allegedly written:
My younger daughter, Olivia, has shown poor judgment and resentment toward her sister. For her own good, I leave her a modest trust controlled by Claire.
Controlled by Claire.
Even in the fake will, she wanted me on a chain.
I looked at Alicia.
“Can this be used against her?”
May you like
She smiled.
“Very much.”
