Mr. Brennan closed the folder.
“Everything is yours, Mrs. Hayes. Legally airtight. Vanessa can’t touch it. Robert can’t touch it. It’s been in an irrevocable trust since 2019 with you as the sole beneficiary. Daniel made sure of that.”
I looked at the paper again.
Twenty-eight million dollars.
“What do I do?”
“That’s up to you.”
He stood and handed me a business card with his personal cell number written on the back.
“But if I may offer advice, don’t do anything quickly, and don’t tell anyone. Vanessa is the type to lawyer up and make noise. Let her think she won.”
“She kicked me out of my house.”
“You can buy ten houses now. Let her have that one.”
He walked me to the door.
“Go to the bank. Open the box. Read everything Daniel left you. Then call me.”
I took a cab to Manhattan Trust. Forty-three dollars plus tip.
The bank was marble and glass, cold and silent. A woman in a gray suit escorted me to the vault. She did not ask questions. She checked my ID and the key.
Box 447 was small and narrow.
Inside was a stack of papers, a USB drive, and a sealed envelope with my name on it in Daniel’s handwriting.
