Chapter 7 - WHAT VANESSA ASKED THE LAWYER
Vanessa denied planning to steal anything.
Robert did not raise his voice.
That frightened her more.
“What did you mean?”
Vanessa looked at Emily, then away.
“I was scared.”
“Of my daughter?”
“Of losing our home.”
“It is not your home to take from her.”
“I know that.”
“Do you?”
Vanessa’s composure cracked.
“When you married me, you said we were building a life. Then I learned that in a few years, Emily could force a sale if she wanted.”
Emily stared.
“I never said I would.”
“You barely speak to me.”
“You slapped me yesterday.”
Vanessa flinched.
Emily continued.
“You have treated me like I’m waiting to throw you onto the street, and I didn’t even know I owned half the house.”
Vanessa sat down.
Ashley remained standing behind her.
Robert asked, “What did you do?”
Vanessa whispered, “I spoke to an attorney.”
David’s expression hardened.
“What kind of attorney?”
“Estate litigation.”
Emily felt sick.
“You were planning to challenge Mom’s trust.”
“No.”
“Then why estate litigation?”
“To understand options.”
“What options?”
Vanessa looked at Robert.
“If Emily became unstable, or financially reckless, whether the transfer could be delayed.”
The room went still.
Emily’s voice lowered.
“You researched whether you could have me declared incapable.”
“No.”
David interrupted.
“That is effectively what you were asking.”
Vanessa’s eyes filled.
“I was trying to protect the house.”
“For who?” Emily asked.
Vanessa looked at Ashley.
There was the answer.
Emily had always known Vanessa loved her daughter fiercely.
She had not understood that Vanessa saw love as a competition for resources.
Robert sat beside the fireplace.
“How long ago?”
“Three months.”
“Did Ashley know?”
Vanessa hesitated.
Ashley answered.
“Of course I knew.”
Vanessa turned toward her.
“I told you in confidence.”
Ashley laughed.
“You told me because you wanted me to stop worrying.”
Robert looked at Ashley.
“Worrying about what?”
Ashley’s expression sharpened.
“Being temporary.”
Emily frowned.
“You’ve lived here five years.”
“Exactly. Five years of Laura’s pictures. Laura’s furniture. Laura’s trust. Laura’s daughter.”
Emily felt the insult like a shove.
Ashley continued.
“Mom married you, and somehow Emily still owns the future.”
Robert stared at her.
“You are not entitled to what Laura left Emily.”
Ashley’s eyes filled.
“You always say Laura’s name like she’s still your real wife.”
Vanessa whispered, “Ashley.”
“No. I’m done.”
She looked at Robert.
“You want to know why I borrowed money? Why I tried to start a business? Because I knew I needed something that was mine.”
“That does not explain forgery,” David said.
Ashley glared at him.
“I didn’t forge anything.”
Emily stepped forward.
“Then who did?”
Ashley smiled coldly.
“You’re looking at the wrong person.”
That night, Vanessa gave Robert the name of the attorney she had consulted.
David contacted him.
The attorney confirmed Vanessa asked general questions but never hired him.
Then he mentioned something else.
“A young woman called my office afterward.”
David asked, “Ashley?”
“She didn’t give a last name.”
“What did she ask?”
The attorney checked his notes.
“She asked what evidence a court would consider if a beneficiary were emotionally unstable.”
Emily felt her stomach tighten.
David asked, “Anything else?”
“Yes.”
“She specifically asked whether recordings of violent behavior inside the home would matter.”
Emily looked toward the living room.
Toward the sofa.
Toward the spot where Vanessa had slapped her.
May you like
And suddenly the earrings incident looked less spontaneous.
It looked staged.
