Occupants: Lucas Everett, Melanie Harper.
Expected move-in date: July 1.
Emergency contact: Grace Harper.
Grace’s name had been crossed out by hand.
Beside it, in Lucas’s handwriting, was another name.
Daniel Voss.
I stared at it.
I did not know the name.
The next attachment was a photo of a business card.
Daniel Voss
Private Wealth Strategy Consultant
Voss Meridian Advisory
Below that was an address in San Diego.
A strange pressure built behind my ribs.
Private wealth strategy consultant.
It sounded respectable enough to be meaningless.
The final attachment was a scanned handwritten note, apparently photographed quickly. The image was slightly blurred, but I could read most of it.
“L—
Do not let A. move funds before conversion. Once asset classification is complete, timeline holds. D.V. says pressure must look voluntary. Zurich story buys time. M. must remain calm. No direct conflict until documents are secured.”
I read it once.
Then again.
A. Anne.
L. Lucas.
M. Melanie.
D.V. Daniel Voss.
The anger I had been holding hardened into something steadier.
Lucas was not improvising.
Someone was advising him.
I called the only person I trusted with legal matters: my father’s old attorney, Miriam Kell.
