Chapter 10 - The Challenge to the Will
Calvin’s attorney argued that Kyle’s confession could not be trusted.
Kyle had debts.
He had lied to police.
He had signed the sale agreement.
And he stood to benefit if Calvin lost.
The attorney also claimed Arthur lacked mental capacity when he signed the new will.
Paige’s lawyer, Evelyn Shaw, reviewed the evidence.
“The video proves motive and delay of medical care,” she said. “But probate court asks a different question.”
“Was Dad competent?”
“Exactly.”
Calvin had collected statements from two doctors suggesting Arthur showed memory problems.
Tabitha had scheduled those appointments.
The records described missed dates, confusion and agitation.
Paige recognized the pattern.
They had altered his medication before each evaluation.
“How do we prove it?” she asked.
Evelyn pointed toward the memory card.
“Your father may have done it for us.”
The card contained more than one recording.
Arthur had filmed himself for thirty consecutive mornings.
Each entry began with the date, current news, his medication dosage and a review of estate decisions.
He spoke clearly.
He remembered names, numbers and details.
In one recording, he explained why.
“If someone claims I am incompetent, these videos will show when my confusion began—and when it ended.”
He had secretly stopped taking pills from the altered bottle.
Within forty-eight hours, his confusion disappeared.
A toxicologist compared the remaining pills.
Several contained a sedative not listed on the prescription.
The sedative had been purchased using Tabitha’s assistant’s credentials.
The assistant agreed to testify that Tabitha ordered her to obtain it.
Calvin’s case weakened.
But then Evelyn discovered a problem.
The signed will in the garden tube had only one witness signature.
California law generally required two.
“If the second witness cannot be found,” Evelyn said, “Calvin can still argue the document is invalid.”
Paige looked at the page.
The missing witness line contained only faint ink pressure.
Arthur had written a name, but water damage erased it.
A forensic examiner recovered the first letter.
M.
Kyle stared at it.
“Maria.”
Paige frowned.
“Who is Maria?”
“The night nurse Dad hired before he died.”
No one had seen Maria since the funeral.
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Calvin’s company had paid for her flight out of the country.
👉 The only person who could validate Arthur’s will had disappeared—and Calvin had arranged her departure.
