"Come here," said Heather, holding her arms outstretched. There were remnants of a tear still visible on her eyes. She looked overwhelmed. Looking around, Samuel Findley could see that they all felt a little bit that way.
As his sister squeezed him, Sam choked down his own feelings. Joe, the family lawyer, was behind a large mahogany desk with a neat stack of papers, a chunky laptop, and some highlighters to the side. Joseph's eyes were wandering around the room nervously. Uncle John and Aunt Sue were here. They weren't actually related, but they were close friends of the family and he'd known them for as long as he could remember. His cousin Joanna was seated with her husband behind them. Hilda was on the other side.
"That's twice we've all gathered together and nobody's started a fight yet. Dad would have been amazed," said Sam. Heather smiled, then finally let him go. She took a step behind him.
"Come on Nolan, you're not getting away either," she said. His son rolled his eyes a little before acquiescing. "Jack sends his regards, but he couldn't get out of work." Sam nodded a silent acknowledgement.
There was also one other person in the room - someone that he didn't recognise. Seated on the left just in front of the large mahogany desk was an attractive young woman, who, upon noticing his glance, stood and approached him with a hand outstretched.
"I'm Krista, Krista Olsson," she said. He shook her hand and smiled politely. "I saw you at the funeral, but I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. I'm very sorry for your loss."
Although she wasn't quite his type, there was no denying that Krista was a bit of a looker. She was a head shorter than he was, athletic yet busty, elegant, with long blonde hair and beautiful eyes. Her clothes straddled the line between tasteful and risqué - lovely red evening-wear with a plunging neckline that beckoned his eyes to stare.
"Thanks. I'm Sam, or Samuel, whichever you prefer" he replied. "I'm sorry we couldn't be meeting under more pleasant circumstances."
Samuel was what his father always called him. It was also what the hospital staff had called him when he received the news. Arthur J.M. Findley had died shortly after colliding with a road barrier, five kilometres from his home on a hairpin bend. His father didn't normally drive himself anywhere, but that day he'd made an exception for some reason. The police had later told him that although there was negligible alcohol in his system, he
was
on "something" - they didn't know what.
A mere three days after the funeral, Joe had sent him a message about the reading of the will. He told him that he wasn't interested in talking about that just yet, but the lawyer was doggedly insistent that it be dealt with sooner rather than later. He was surprised by how little push-back there was from the rest of the family.
Maybe they really need the money
, he thought.
He took one of the free seats. A moment later, as he was settling in, Nolan tapped him on the shoulder.
"Check it out, Uncle Joe's got a thing for that girl," he whispered into Sam's ear.
Sure enough, the lawyer had a big stupid smile on his face, staring at Krista, who was pretending not to notice. Sam cleared his throat as loud as he could, which seemed to snap Joseph out of his daydream.
"Aherm, now that everybody's here, I suppose we can start," he said. His smile had faded. "First of all - Arthur Findley was an incredible man. I know I already spoke at the funeral of our long friendship, but he meant something to every one of us. And you all meant something to him, too. He did his best to look after all of us in life, and he planned to continue doing so in the event of his death. Everybody in this room today has been invited because you are named as a beneficiary in his will."
Heather gave Sam a puzzled look, then gestured her head subtly towards Krista. He shrugged.
"I don't think I need to tell anybody here that Arthur led a very successful life, and the estate he left behind was considerable. I hope you'll bare with me. I'll do my best to explain anything confusing and will be happy to answer questions that anybody has. There are a few details that won't be relevant to people here, particularly in relation to charitable donations, but the bulk of it is to be dispersed among all of you here."
The room collectively shifted in their seats.
"First of all, in terms of liquid assets, two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars are to be given to Hilda, in honour of her many years help in making the Findley residence not just a house, but a home."
Sam and Heather both turned to smile at her, and she let out a small outburst of emotion.
"To Joseph, my faithful friend - oh gosh I can't read this bit out It's going to make me blush - I leave one hundred thousand dollars, and you're lucky to get that because you don't even need it," he said. Several people laughed.
"To Nolan and Joanna, the sum of two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars will also be given. All remaining liquid assets at the time of his passing should be assigned in proportional shares to the remaining beneficiaries along the lines described below in the division of property and company holdings."
He almost looked like he was sweating. He looked over at Krista, who nodded and said something too quiet to hear. Joe took a deep breath, then continued.
"To my loving wife, I leave the primary residence," he said, then made a gesture to the room around them. To my son Samuel, I leave ownership of the Bellefort property, and to my daughter Heather, I leave the townhouse. All remaining properties are to be liquidated and given, along with equal stakes in all companies and businesses, to these three individuals, save for the portion allocated to charitable organisations listed below."
"Sorry to interrupt," said Heather, "But since mum already passed away, what happens to the portion of assets that would have passed to her, originally?"
The lawyer looked down at the papers, and then around the room. He looked everywhere except at Heather, before casting his eyes downward again. He seemed to be having trouble speaking.
"The will... it doesn't specify that it's referring to Adrienne," he said after a long, awkward silence. "It's referencing his wife. In the event that he remarried, pending a change in the will, it would therefore be granted to her."
"Hold on," said Heather. "What exactly are you saying? Are you implying..."
"Yes," Krista suddenly interjected. "That is what he's implying."
The room fell silent as everybody processed this new information. Heather looked over at Jo, who was refusing to meet her gaze once again.
"
Her?
" she said.
"Bullshit!" said Sam. "I've never seen this woman before in my life. Hilda, do you know this person?"
"He was seeing this woman, yes, she came around here once or twice," said Hilda, hesitantly. "This is the first I've heard about marriage."
"Please calm down everyone," said Joe. "I know this is a lot to take in, but what your father chose to do with his life was his own business. There is no need to get angry at this young lady."
Predictably, telling people to calm down had rather the opposite effect. The room descended into a yelling match - even poor old Aunty Sue looked like she was ready to throw fists. For her part, Krista was silent. It was Joe that was defending her. After several more minutes of collective family meltdown, Heather stormed over to the exit.
"I always knew you were a fucking snake, Joe," she said. "And I'm going to prove that this alleged marriage never took place. Don't you forget that I'm a lawyer too." She pointed at Krista. "And you! You should be ashamed of yourself. I'm not going to let the two of you steal four hundred million fucking dollars from my family. And may I just say that this is raising a lot of questions in my mind about the circumstances around his death."
"Please Heather, don't -" said Joe, but it was too late. She was gone.
"This is getting absurd," said Sam. "Come on Nolan, let's get out of here."
As he started moving towards the exist, Krista stood behind him.
