Chapter Thirteen: The Trust Fund

The lawyer's office was on the sixteenth floor of a building that smelled like old paper and lemon polish.

I hadn't been here in years. Not since my mother died. Not since the reading of her will, when I sat in a stiff chair and listened to a stranger explain what she'd left behind. I'd been seventeen. I hadn't understood half of it. I'd just wanted to go home.

Now I was back.

Adrian came with me. He didn't ask if I wanted him there. He just came. He sat beside me in the waiting room, his presence steady and quiet.

The lawyer's name was Harold Pines. He was old. Older than I remembered. His hands shook when he opened the file.

"Miss Voss," he said. "It's been a long time."

"Elena."

"Elena. Of course." He adjusted his glasses. "I understand you have questions about the trust fund."

"I have more than questions. I have evidence."

I set the folder on his desk. He opened it. He read through the documents. His face didn't change, but his hands stopped shaking.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that Mira has been siphoning money from the trust for years. Julian helped her. I need to know if there's a way to stop it."

Harold set down the folder. He folded his hands.

"There is," he said. "But it won't be easy. The trust was set up with specific provisions. Your mother wanted it to protect you. She didn't anticipate—"

"She didn't anticipate that her husband would remarry. Or that his new wife would bring a daughter who would try to steal everything."

"No. She didn't."

I leaned forward. "Can we stop it?"

"We can freeze the accounts. We can file a formal complaint. We can pursue legal action. But it will take time. And it will be public."

"I don't care about public."

"Then we can proceed."

Adrian spoke for the first time. "How long?"

Harold looked at him. "Three months. Maybe four. Depends on how quickly the courts move."

"That's too long."

"It's the best I can do."

Adrian didn't argue. He just nodded.

I stood. "Do it. File whatever you need to file. Freeze whatever you can freeze."

Harold nodded. "I'll start today."

I walked to the door. Adrian followed. We didn't speak until we were in the car.

"That was easier than I expected," I said.

"He knew about the money. He was just waiting for someone to ask."

"You think so?"

"I know so. He's been your mother's attorney for thirty years. He wouldn't have missed something like this."

I looked out the window. The city slid past. I thought about my mother. I thought about what she would say if she could see me now.

"She would have liked this," I said.

"Liked what?"

"Taking action. Not waiting for someone else to fix it."

Adrian didn't respond. He just looked at me. That same unnamed something crossed his face. It was there and gone.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Looking at me like that."

He didn't answer. He just turned back to the window.

We rode the rest of the way in silence.

---

That night, I couldn't sleep.

I lay in bed. I thought about the trust fund. I thought about Mira. I thought about my mother.

I got up. I walked to the living room. Adrian was there. He was standing by the window. He didn't turn when I entered.

"You should be asleep," he said.

"So should you."

He didn't argue. He just stood there. I stood beside him.

"I keep thinking about her," I said. "My mother. What she would think of all this."

"She'd be proud."

"You don't know that."

"I know enough."

I looked at him. "What do you know?"

He turned. He looked at me. "I know she raised a daughter who doesn't give up. Who fights. Who survives."

I didn't respond. I didn't know how.

"She'd be proud," he said again.

I looked away. The city lights blurred. I blinked.

"Thank you," I said.

"For what?"

"For saying that."

He didn't respond. He just stood there. We watched the city together. Neither of us spoke.

After a while, I leaned my head against his shoulder. He didn't move. He just let me.

We stayed there until the sky turned gray.

---

The next morning, I found Felix waiting for me.

"The complaint has been filed," he said. "The accounts are frozen."

I sat at my desk. "How did Julian take it?"

"He doesn't know yet. But he will. Probably today."

"Good."

Felix shifted his weight. "There's something else."

"What?"

"Victor Hale. He's been asking questions. About you. About Adrian. About the trust fund."

I looked up. "What kind of questions?"

"He wants to know who hired him. He wants to know why Julian is so interested in your finances. He's suspicious."

"He should be."

Felix frowned. "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing. Let him ask. Let him dig. He'll find out the truth eventually."

"And then?"

"Then we'll see whose side he's on."

Felix left. I turned back to my computer. I started working.

The game was getting more complicated. But I wasn't afraid.

I was ready.