Chapter 4

Their smug smiles vanished.

"That's impossible! How do you have that?!"

"It's a fake! She's lying!"

Donna grabbed Nathan's sleeve.

"Don't listen to her! It's forged! Tell her what happens to criminals who forge legal documents!"

Robert lunged forward, yelling, "Vivian! I know you're desperate, but faking a legal document?! You're humiliating our entire family!"

Nathan held up a hand, his voice firm and commanding.

"Everyone, calm down. The document in Miss Vance's hands is indeed the official last will and testament executed by Clara Vance. It is fully legally binding."

Panic washed over their faces.

"How? We ripped it up the other day!"

"Yeah, it was destroyed! Destroyed documents don't count!"

Before anyone could react, Robert lunged forward, grabbed the paper from my hands, and tore it to pieces just like before.

He let out a long sigh of relief, smirking at Nathan.

"Now it's gone. Clara's estate goes to the three brothers under intestacy law, right?"

I stared at him in utter disbelief.

"Dad... why? Why would you shred a legal document right in front of an attorney? Are you really so desperate for that three hundred grand that you'd throw away your own daughter's dignity and life?!"

A sharp surge of fury rushed through my chest. The pain was so intense I coughed, spitting a mouthful of blood across the floor.

Robert didn't flinch. He didn't ask if I was okay.

Instead, he muttered under his breath, "If I'd known she was this close to dying, I wouldn't have shredded it. If she died first, I would've gotten the whole million."

A cold weight pressed down on my lungs, suffocating me.

Nathan rushed forward to support my trembling shoulders.

"Miss Vance, are you alright?"

I gritted my teeth, forcing every word through the blood in my mouth.

"Move forward with probate. I want every single cent Clara left me."

Robert sneered.

"Vivian, give it up. You have no will. The law says we split it."

Nathan adjusted his glasses, his gaze piercing.

"Miss Clara Vance's estate was filed electronically through our firm. No matter how many physical copies you destroy, the legal record stands.”

“Miss Vivian Vance is the sole designated heir. You will not receive a single dime."

He paused, letting the words sink in.

"Furthermore, Miss Vance has formally instructed us to file criminal charges against you for the intentional destruction of legal documents and attempted grand larceny.”

“We reserve every right to prosecute."

Arthur was the first to fold, pointing straight at Robert.

"It was him! He shredded the paper from the start! We had nothing to do with it!"

The rest of the family turned on him in an instant.

"Officer—er, counselor, he dragged us into this! He told us we'd get a cut! We didn't know anything!"

Robert stared at them in utter shock.

"When we were talking money, I was your hero! Now that there's trouble, you throw me under the bus?! We're family!"

Desperate, Robert turned to me, tears welling in his eyes.

"Vivian... do you really want to put your own father in prison?!"

Suddenly, the door swung open. A young man marched in, glaring at me.

"Vivian Vance! You split Clara's estate right now, or I'm taking Robert to court!"

Looking at the stranger's strikingly familiar face, the pieces finally clicked.

I finally understood why Robert was so desperate to split my inheritance among our relatives.

Fighting through the agony, I stared the man down.

"Go ahead. Let's both sue him and see whose claim comes first. I'm suing him for destroying a will to steal my inheritance. What are you suing him for?"

The man puffed out his chest.

"I'm suing him for—"