After we laid my husband to rest, my son drove me to a quiet road outside town and said, “This is where you get out.

I smiled into the phone, listening to the alliances already fracturing.

“Listen carefully,” I said. “I’m giving you one chance to walk away with something. Withdraw your fraudulent will. Sign the business and house back to me. In return, I’ll give you each a one-time payment of fifty thousand dollars. After that, we’re done.”

Brandon laughed, an ugly sound.

“You’re delusional. You have nothing. The will is legal.”

“The will is a forgery,” Vincent interjected, leaning toward the speakerphone on his desk. “As the lawyer who drafted Nicholas Canton’s actual will, I can testify to that.”

Silence stretched across the line.

“You have twenty-four hours,” I said. “After that, the offer expires, and I proceed with fraud charges.”

I hung up before they could respond.

Vincent leaned back in his chair.

“You realize they’ll probably refuse.”

“I’m counting on it,” I said. I stood, gathering my purse. “Now I need to visit the bank in person.”

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