Chapter 7 - The Shadows of the Will
The quiet courtyard seemed to shrink around Beatrice as Raymond's single word hung in the cold autumn air. Elena, standing by the open car door, pulled Leo tighter against her shoulder, sensing the catastrophic shift in the atmosphere.
"Raymond..." Beatrice stammered, her voice stripped of its usual aristocratic polish. "Whatever... whatever David gave you, it’s outdated! Liam wasn't in his right mind when he drafted those private notes! You know how unstable he was after the business failed!"
Raymond didn't shout. He didn't raise his hand. He simply took two slow, heavy steps up the grand stone staircase, holding the opened file in his right hand.
"Liam wasn't unstable, Beatrice," Raymond said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "He was terrified. Not of the market... not of his creditors. He was terrified of you."
David Vance stepped up to the base of the stairs, opening his briefcase again to pull out a second set of certified financial ledgers.
"Miss Mercer," David announced, his voice echoing across the courtyard for the estate staff to hear. "The file contains the forensic digital audit Liam commissioned three weeks before his death. It proves beyond a doubt that you systematically siphoned four million dollars from Liam’s private trust fund—and attempted to frame Elena for the missing capital."
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Elena gasped softly, her hand flying to her mouth. She looked at Beatrice, the pieces of her six-month nightmare finally falling into place. The sudden accusations of financial misconduct, the aggressive demands for her to leave the country, the threats of legal action—it was all a desperate cover-up to hide Beatrice’s theft before Raymond conducted the annual family audit.
Beatrice’s face crumpled into a mask of pure terror. "Raymond, listen to me! I did it for the family! Liam was going to ruin us! He was giving everything to her—a woman with no background, no family name!"
