Chapter 9 - THE TRAP HIDDEN IN THE TRUST
The trust documents contained protections my grandfather had insisted upon decades earlier.
Major transfers required independent review.
Certain assets couldn't be moved without trustee approval.
And any attempt to alter beneficial ownership triggered additional legal requirements.
Ethan apparently hadn't understood all of them.
Or he'd believed he could bypass them.
Margaret explained the implications.
“If these documents were submitted, the discrepancies would likely be detected.”
I stared.
“Then why would Ethan risk it?”
She hesitated.
“Because he may have believed you would cooperate.”
I looked down.
“He thought I'd sign anything.”
Margaret nodded.
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
Then remembered something.
The way Ethan always handed me documents at dinner.
The way he kissed my forehead.
The way he said:
“Just sign here, sweetheart.”
May you like
I'd mistaken familiarity for safety.
Now I understood how dangerous that assumption had been.
