Arthur pulled out his mobile phone from his inner suit pocket, his thumb hovering over his personal attorney's contact number. Evelyn rushed toward him, her hands trembling as she tried to grab his phone before he could dial.
Evelyn: Don't make that call, Arthur! If you involve external counsel, the board will freeze all corporate assets by nightfall!
Arthur: Let them freeze everything! I would rather lose every penny in the corporate account than let you manipulate my family legacy!
Maria: Mr. Vance, there is one more document inside the blue sealed envelope at the back of the folder.
Arthur reached into the back of the leather binder and pulled out a thick blue envelope bearing a unbroken red wax seal. Evelyn froze in her tracks, her face draining of all color as she recognized the wax emblem.
Evelyn: Where... where did you get that?
Maria: Senior Mr. Vance deposited this directly with the county probate clerk. I picked up the certified copy this morning with the court order.
Arthur: What is this, Maria?
Maria: It is the codicil to the original will. Executed three days before his passing in the presence of two independent hospital witnesses.
Evelyn: It’s invalid! He was on heavy medication! He wasn't in a sound state of mind to execute any legal codicil!
Arthur: The hospital report attached right here says his cognitive functions were completely clear, Evelyn. Stop lying!
Arthur broke the seal and pulled out the crisp parchment sheets, reading the bold black heading aloud into the quiet foyer.
Arthur: "In the event of my death, any attempt by Evelyn Vance to alter the distribution of the Vance Family Trust shall result in an immediate and total forfeiture of her matrimonial rights..."
Evelyn: Arthur, please... listen to me for one minute!
Arthur: You didn't just target the trust fund, did you? You tried to bypass my father's final wishes entirely!
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