Chapter 4 - The Lawyer Who Knew Too Much
Wesley Kane had been at my father’s funeral.
He had stood beside my mother in the rain, holding an umbrella over her while the honor guard folded the flag.
He had handled the first version of Dad’s estate plan.
And nine months before Dad died, my father fired him.
I had never known why.
Sienna rejected the call.
Agent Hsu pretended not to notice.
I did the same.
The police issued my mother a citation and asked whether I wanted to press charges immediately. I told them I wanted the incident fully documented and that I would decide with counsel the next morning.
Mom stared at me like I had betrayed her.
“You would put your own mother in court?”
“You hit me twice.”
“You embarrassed me first.”
“No, Mom. You embarrassed yourself.”
Her lips trembled with anger.
Then she lowered her voice.
“This is because of Mason, isn’t it?”
Mason gave a humorless smile. “I assure you, ma’am, Olivia was capable of saying no long before she met me.”
My mother looked around at the officers again.
A new thought entered her eyes.
Status.
Connections.
Leverage.
She turned toward me with sudden softness.
“Honey, I was upset. We can fix this privately.”
There it was.
The switch.
The same one from childhood.
Rage, then tears. Threat, then affection.
I had fallen for it a hundred times.
Not tonight.
“Go home,” I said.
Sienna grabbed Mom’s purse. “Come on.”
As they walked out, Sienna looked back at me.
Her face was pale.
Not angry.
Afraid.
Agent Hsu waited until the doors shut.
“We need to move quickly,” he said.
Mason nodded. “Kane?”
“We’re already checking him.”
I looked at Hsu. “My father fired him. Find out why.”
“I intend to.”
The party was over, though nobody said it out loud.
Guests made excuses, hugged me too carefully, and left in clusters. Some officers stayed behind. By midnight, only a handful of people remained.
Mason found me alone near the balcony doors.
My cheek had swollen.
He touched the air near it without making contact.
“Does it hurt?”
“Yes.”
“I meant everything else.”
I looked at him.
“Yes.”
His anger softened.
“You don’t have to be strong with me.”
“I’m not trying to be strong.”
“What are you trying to be?”
“Useful.”
He sighed. “That sounds like you.”
I leaned into his chest for three seconds.
Exactly three.
Then Hsu called.
We put him on speaker.
“I found the termination letter,” he said. “Your father dismissed Kane for conflict of interest.”
“What conflict?”
“He was advising someone else in your family on a financial matter tied to the estate.”
“Who?”
A pause.
“Your mother.”
Mason’s arm tightened around me.
Hsu continued.
“Your father also filed a sealed memorandum with his replacement attorney. We’re working on access now.”
“What did it concern?”
“Potential coercion.”
My throat tightened.
“Against Dad?”
“We don’t know.”
Then I heard rapid typing on his end.
Hsu went silent.
“What?” I asked.
“The trust just triggered another alert.”
“Another withdrawal attempt?”
“No.”
May you like
His voice changed.
“Someone is trying to liquidate the entire account tonight.”
