Chapter 4: The Ghost’s Final Play
Death stops a heart, but it does not always stop a monster.
Two weeks after Victor Monroe died in the prison infirmary, a certified letter arrived at Clara’s door. It was from a private estate attorney. Victor had updated his will exactly three days before his heart failed.
Clara sat in the sterile, glass-walled conference room of a downtown law firm. Andrew sat on her right. Daniel, acting as her legal counsel, sat on her left. The estate attorney, a nervous man in a gray suit, cleared his throat and slid a heavy wooden box across the table.
"Mr. Monroe's primary assets were seized during the federal restructuring," the attorney explained, refusing to meet Clara's eyes. "However, a private offshore trust remained undetected. It contains approximately four million dollars in liquid capital."
Daniel’s eyes narrowed. "He hid money from the federal courts." "Yes," the attorney admitted. "And in his final codicil, he left the entirety of that trust to Clara."
Andrew tensed. He looked at the wooden box. There was always a catch with Victor. "Under what condition?" Clara asked. Her voice was calm, completely devoid of the fear she used to carry into rooms like this.
The attorney opened a manila folder. "The funds are yours, Mrs. Hale. However, the codicil explicitly states that to claim the money, you must legally name your firstborn child after him. Victor, or Victoria."
A suffocating silence fell over the room. Even from the grave, Victor was trying to purchase her obedience. He was trying to buy his way into her future, to brand her child with his legacy of terror. Four million dollars to whisper the name of her abuser every day for the rest of her life.
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Daniel leaned forward, his prosecutor instincts flaring. "This is a post-mortem manipulation tactic. We can challenge the contingency in probate court." "No," Clara said softly.
She looked at the wooden box. "What is in there?" she asked. "His personal effects," the attorney said. "His watch. His cufflinks. And a letter."
