Step aside, sweetheart, the adults are signing now

Mr. Achebe folded his hands and said the words I had waited two years to hear. ‘Mrs. Marsh, before we proceed, I need to confirm the chain of ownership.’ Vivian rolled her eyes. ‘It’s simple. Everything goes to the spouse. Read the will, old man.’ Achebe slid a single page across the table. ‘There is no will to read for Marsh Holdings. Mr. Marsh transferred controlling interest of the company into the Marsh Family Trust in 2019. The sole trustee, as of his diagnosis, is his daughter. Elena.’ The room went very still. Brendan’s smirk slid off his face like wet paint. I opened my portfolio for the first time. Inside were the quarterly reports I’d been signing for eighteen months — every approval, every dividend Vivian had been spending, routed through me. She just hadn’t bothered to read the signature line. ‘That can’t be right,’ Vivian whispered. ‘He promised me the penthouse. The cars. The Hamptons house.’ I finally spoke. ‘The penthouse is corporate housing. The cars are leased under the company. The Hamptons house was sold in March to fund Dad’s hospice care — the care you said was, and I quote, eating into your shopping budget.’ Cole stood up so fast his chair tipped. ‘You can’t just cut us off!’ I slid three envelopes across the polished wood. ‘I’m not. Dad left each of you a personal gift. Forty thousand dollars. Exactly what Vivian charged to his black card the week he was in the ICU.’ Vivian’s hands started to shake. ‘Elena, sweetheart, we’re family —’ ‘You called me a charity case at his funeral,’ I said quietly, ‘because I wore the same coat twice.’ I stood, buttoned that same charcoal coat, and nodded to Mr. Achebe. ‘Change the locks on the penthouse by morning. And Vivian —’ I paused at the door. ‘The adults are done signing.’