She Came at 5 A.M. to Steal the Family Estate—But the Man She Planned to Betray Was Listening Behind the Door

The video continued.

Natalie stood so close to the tablet that her knuckles touched the screen.

Voss held up the original trust document.

Brooke said, "That's it?"

"That's it. Catherine's transfer. Recorded copy exists, but if we control the family file long enough, Bellweather can close before Natalie knows where to look."

"Destroy it."

Natalie's breath caught.

On screen, Voss hesitated. "It's evidence."

Brooke took the pages from his hand, walked to Catherine's old fireplace, and lit them with a silver lighter.

Noah's recording captured the flames.

Captured Brooke watching them burn.

Captured her saying, "By the time Dominic gets back, it'll already be done."

Dominic paused the video.

No one spoke.

Emma finally said, "She thought she was smarter than a child with an old security app."

Dominic looked at Noah, who stood in the doorway clutching a stuffed shark.

"Buddy, did you watch this Tuesday?"

Noah shook his head. "I only saw the deer part. I didn't know the camera could go backward until last night."

Dominic nodded. "You did nothing wrong."

Noah looked at Natalie. "Is Dad's picture still in Grandma's house?"

Natalie's eyes filled again. "Yeah. Of course."

"Then I don't want Aunt Brooke to sell it."

Dominic crouched beside him. "She won't."

This time, Noah believed him.

The estate attorney arrived at seven-twenty with a certified copy of Catherine's trust from the county registry. The document was valid. The house belonged to Natalie through an irrevocable trust triggered by Evan's death.

Brooke had never had any legal claim to it.

Worse, the attempted transfer might expose everyone involved to criminal charges.

Dominic's chief financial officer called again.

"We traced the eight point six million," he said through speakerphone. "Most of it moved to offshore accounts. But there is another problem."

"What problem?"

"Someone used your internal authorization token. Not a forged signature. Your actual hardware key."

Dominic's expression changed.

Only four people had access to that key.

One was Dominic.

One was his chief of staff.

One was the head of finance.

And one was his younger brother, Julian.