Chapter 5 - The Attorney in the Kitchen
Lucas had told Michael he hadn't spoken to Sophia in nearly a year.
The video proved otherwise.
He entered the kitchen.
Saw Emily unconscious.
Then handed Sophia an envelope.
They talked for several minutes.
Lucas left.
Sophia called Michael afterward.
Her story that night had been simple:
Emily fainted.
I found her.
Come home.
Michael remembered racing from the office.
He remembered Sophia comforting him.
Telling him pregnancy had made Emily fragile.
Now every memory felt contaminated.
He called Lucas.
No answer.
Again.
Voicemail.
Sophia folded her arms.
“You’re creating some fantasy.”
Michael looked at her.
“What was in the envelope?”
“None of your business.”
“It became my business when my wife collapsed beside you.”
Sophia's face hardened.
“Ask Lucas.”
“I intend to.”
Emily returned after calming Mason.
She looked exhausted.
Michael reached toward her.
She stepped back.
That hurt.
He deserved it.
Then she said:
“I remember the argument.”
Everyone looked at her.
“Sophia asked about the baby.”
Michael frowned.
“What about the baby?”
Emily swallowed.
“She wanted to know whether we'd updated our wills.”
Sophia's eyes narrowed.
Emily continued.
“I told her yes.”
Michael remembered.
After learning they were expecting a second child, he and Emily updated their estate plan.
If either parent died, assets went into trusts for the children.
If both died, guardianship went to Emily's sister, Claire.
Not Sophia.
Michael looked at his sister.
“You asked about our wills?”
Sophia laughed.
“Families discuss these things.”
Emily shook her head.
“You got angry when I told you Claire would become guardian.”
“I didn't care.”
“You said she wasn't a Reed.”
Michael's stomach tightened.
Sophia had always been obsessed with the family name.
Their father had built a successful manufacturing company.
Michael inherited the controlling stake.
Sophia received substantial assets too.
But not control.
Their father believed Michael was better suited to run the business.
Sophia had never forgiven him.
Then Michael remembered something else.
Lucas had drafted the updated estate plan.
And Lucas was Sophia's ex-boyfriend.
He opened his email.
Searched Lucas.
There it was.
A message from six weeks earlier.
Michael had ignored it during a business trip.
SUBJECT: SIGNATURE CORRECTION.
Attached was a revised trust amendment.
Michael opened it.
His signature appeared at the bottom.
He went cold.
“I didn't sign this.”
Emily moved beside him.
The amendment changed one crucial provision.
If Michael and Emily both became incapacitated—
temporary control of the children's trust would pass to Sophia Reed.
Sophia stared at the screen.
Michael slowly looked at her.
“You tried to put yourself in control of my kids' money.”
“No.”
“Then who forged my signature?”
Sophia didn't answer.
Her phone buzzed.
She looked down.
A message preview flashed across the screen.
May you like
LUCAS:
DON'T SAY ANYTHING. I'M COMING.
