The lawyer adjusted his glasses, glanced at the papers in front of him, and spoke with the careful precision of a man who had rehearsed this moment many times. “Before we begin,” he said, “I want to clarify that Mr. David Palmer updated his will six months ago.”
Stephanie’s head snapped up.
“Six months?” she repeated, her voice sharp. “That must be a mistake. David wouldn’t change anything without telling me.”
The lawyer didn’t respond.
Instead, he unfolded the first page. “David recorded this revision in my office personally,” he said. “On a day he came alone.”
Stephanie stiffened.
Her brother crossed his arms. I felt something shift in my chest—
a mix of grief, fear, and the faintest flicker of vindication. The lawyer continued.
“To my wife, Stephanie…”
She leaned forward, already reaching for the pen she assumed she would need to sign for her inheritance. “…I leave the personal items and furniture that she brought into the marriage.”
Her smile froze. “Items she brought into the marriage,” the lawyer repeated.
“That concludes her portion.”
The room fell silent. Stephanie blinked once. Twice.
Her mouth opened, then slowly closed again. “That’s impossible,” she whispered. “What about the house?
The cars? The savings—”
The air in the office tightened.
Even the blinds seemed to tremble. “…I leave full ownership of the property located at 112 Maple Ridge Drive.”
Stephanie’s brother jerked upright. “What?” Stephanie hissed.
The lawyer kept reading. “Additionally, I leave her the savings account ending in 4721,
and the life insurance policy dated May 3rd of this year.”
My hands trembled around the tissue in my lap. David…
my David…
he had planned for this.
For me. Stephanie shot to her feet. “He had NO RIGHT to do that without—without consulting—”
The lawyer cut her off.
“Mrs. Palmer, please sit. There is more.”
She sat.
Only because her knees seemed unsure. He read the next line slowly. **“This decision comes after discovering financial discrepancies involving my wife,
and actions taken without my consent.”**
Stephanie’s face drained to the color of ash.
Her brother shifted in his chair. I felt my breath stop. The lawyer cleared his throat.
“David requested that the documentation for those financial discrepancies be kept confidential unless challenged in court.”
The story doesn’t end here –
it continues on the next page.
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