Chapter 3 - THE ESTATE BELONGED TO ELLIE
Luciano called his family's attorney, Richard Vale, and ordered him to bring every document concerning Ellie's inheritance.
Richard arrived within an hour.
When he saw the enrollment packet, his expression darkened.
“This is serious.”
“Tell me about the trust,” Luciano demanded.
Richard opened his briefcase and removed a thick legal folder.
“Your late wife, Isabella, established an irrevocable family trust before Ellie was born. She transferred controlling ownership of the family estate into it.”
Luciano stared at him.
“I knew she left Ellie an inheritance. I didn't know she controlled the estate.”
“Your wife wanted Ellie protected regardless of what happened to the adults around her.”
Richard turned to a page marked with a yellow tab.
“Ellie owns the controlling beneficial interest. Because she's a minor, her shares are managed by a legal guardian under the trust's provisions.”
“And if I become unavailable?”
“A court could appoint a temporary administrator, depending on the circumstances. But the process requires judicial review, evidence, and safeguards.”
Luciano looked at Celina, who had appeared silently in the doorway.
“Were you planning to petition for temporary administration?”
Celina's silence was answer enough.
Richard removed another document.
“We found a draft petition in the firm's electronic system. It names Celina as the proposed temporary administrator.”
Luciano's blood ran cold.
The petition claimed he intended to place Ellie in residential care because he could no longer provide adequate supervision.
It portrayed Celina as the only stable adult willing to protect the child.
And it suggested that Luciano's upcoming marriage would create a period of family instability.
The document had been prepared before the enrollment packet.
Celina stepped forward.
“I was trying to protect the estate.”
“From my daughter?”
“From chaos! You're a busy man, Luciano. You travel constantly. Someone has to make responsible decisions.”
“Someone who forged my signature?”
“I didn't sign your name!”
Richard pointed to the electronic authorization.
“The file was submitted using credentials associated with your office, but we need a forensic review to determine who accessed it.”
Celina's confidence began to crumble.
Luciano turned to Richard.
“Freeze any pending administrative changes. Secure the original trust documents. And make sure no one can transfer or encumber Ellie's shares without independent legal review.”
Richard nodded.
Celina stepped toward Luciano.
“You can't shut me out. We're getting married in four days.”
He looked at the ring on her finger.
“I was going to give you a place in this family.”
“And I would have been a good wife!”
“Then why did you need my daughter gone?”
Celina's eyes filled with fury.
“Because she will always come first!”
Luciano stared at her.
“She should.”
He took Ellie into his arms.
Behind them, Richard quietly closed the trust folder.
May you like
But as he prepared to leave, he stopped beside Luciano and whispered, “There is something else. Isabella left a sealed letter with instructions that it be opened only if someone attempted to remove Ellie from the estate.”
What had Isabella known about the woman her husband would eventually marry?
