Chapter 10
Adam stood in the doorway, staring down at the courier standing on their porch. The young man in a blue uniform held a thick, heavy envelope secured with a wax seal—the kind usually reserved for formal legal documents.
"Delivery for Hannah and Adam Miller," the courier said, extending the electronic pad for a signature.
Adam signed his name with a growing sense of unease. He took the envelope, thanking the man before closing the door. The envelope was heavy, the paper thick and expensive. The return address printed in elegant, embossed lettering read: The Estate of Evelyn Hayes.
Hannah’s mother. The matriarch of the family, who had passed away three months prior, leaving her complex estate in legal limbo.
Hannah walked into the hallway, drying her hands on a dish towel. She stopped when she saw the envelope in Adam's hand, recognizing the seal instantly.
"Is that from the estate lawyers?" she asked, her voice dropping into a tense whisper.
"Yeah," Adam said, handing it to her. "It looks like the final reading is scheduled."
Hannah broke the seal, pulling out the thick stack of parchment. As her eyes scanned the first page, the color slowly drained from her face. Her hand began to tremble, the paper rustling loudly in the quiet hall.
"What is it?" Adam asked, stepping closer, concern etching deep lines into his forehead.
"My mother..." Hannah choked out, her eyes flying across the legal jargon. "She didn't split the estate evenly. She changed the will two weeks before she died."
"Changed it how?"
Hannah looked up, her blue eyes wide with a mixture of shock and an impending, terrifying realization.
"She left the family home, the trust, and the controlling shares of the business entirely to Olivia," Hannah whispered. "With Monica appointed as the secondary executor until Olivia turns eighteen."
Adam’s breath caught in his throat. The peace they had fought so hard to build over the last three weeks was suddenly standing on a trapdoor.
"Monica is the executor?" Adam repeated, the reality setting in.
May you like
"She has legal authority over the trust," Hannah said, her hands gripping the papers so tightly they crumpled. "If we want to protect Olivia’s future... we have to fight Monica in court. She's not going to let this go."
The silence returned to the hallway, but it was no longer peaceful. It was the calm before a massive, devastating storm. The battle in the kitchen was over, but the war for her daughter’s life had only just begun.
