The money had been placed in an escrow account controlled by my attorney.
My father’s will also contained a protective provision. If a sale was made under proven fraud or coercion, it could be challenged before the funds were released.
Daniel knew about the house.
He knew how much it was worth.
But he had never taken the time to read my father’s will.
He had been so certain that my grief would make me obedient that he never considered the possibility that my father had protected me.
Then I told him the detail that finally destroyed what remained of his confidence.
The buyer was the Mercer Heritage Trust, a nonprofit preservation organization my father had quietly helped establish before his death.
The trust had purchased the property through an agreement that allowed me to buy it back after the fraud investigation concluded.
Daniel stared at me.
“You still own it?”
“Not yet,” I said. “But you never did.”
Elaine began to cry.
Only minutes earlier, she had been smiling and asking for the money.
Now that investigators were standing in the room, she suddenly appeared frightened and fragile.
