Carter: What trust fund will? Clara's estate was settled months ago. Everything went into a primary trust for Leo.
Margaret: That's what you were told, Carter. Because Evelyn was the estate lawyer who drafted the final paperwork!
Carter: Are you telling me she altered the legal documents?
Margaret: Two days ago, I went to Clara's old law firm in downtown Dallas. I asked her former partner, Mr. Henderson, to pull the original signed codicil from their vault.
Carter: And what did it say?
Margaret: If Leo passes away before his eighteenth birthday, the entire forty-million-dollar estate and the manufacturing company shares automatically revert to the surviving legal guardian—which would be your current spouse!
Carter: She wrote herself in as the sole beneficiary if my son died...
Margaret: She didn't just want your money, Carter. She wanted Clara's entire legacy. She married you so she could legally stand in line to inherit everything the moment Leo was gone.
Carter: That's why she was so eager to adopt Leo formally last month!
Margaret: Exactly. Once the court finalized the stepparent adoption, she became his legal mother on paper. If anything happened to him, you would be devastated, and she would legally control every cent.
Carter: She played me from the very beginning. From the day she stepped into my office as a legal consultant.
Margaret: She was patient, cold, and calculated. But she made one massive mistake.
Carter: What mistake?
Margaret: She thought I was just an old, grieving grandmother who didn't understand technology or law.
Suddenly, the heavy front doorbell rang again. Carter stood up, his eyes cold and filled with a dangerous resolve.
Carter: Stay here with Leo, Mom. I'll get the door.
Carter walked back out to the high foyer. Standing at the entrance was Detective Reynolds, accompanied by two crime scene investigators carrying silver equipment cases.
Detective Reynolds: Mr. Vance. We're here to secure the digital evidence and take your statement.
Carter: Detective. The laptop is in my study. Everything is loaded on the screen.
Detective Reynolds: Good. My team will clone the hard drive and export the video checksums for court admissibility.
Carter: Where is Evelyn now?
Detective Reynolds: She's at the precinct holding facility. She's refusing to answer questions until her lawyer arrives.
Carter: She is a lawyer. She knows the system inside and out.
Detective Reynolds: That might be true, but video evidence of premeditated poisoning and attempted murder of an infant leaves very little room for a legal defense.
Carter: I want her prosecuted to the absolute fullest extent of the law. No plea deals. No settlements.
Detective Reynolds: Given the severity of the charges, the District Attorney is already preparing a capital indictment.
Carter: Good. Because she took my wife's life, and she tried to take my son's.
Detective Reynolds: We'll make sure she never sees the outside of a state prison again, Mr. Vance.
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