Not while removing items from a residence you do not control.’
Declan made one last attempt.
He pointed toward the desk and claimed Bradley had promised him repayment for a business deal.
Fiona muttered that Marjorie, as his mother, had every right to secure family documents.
A younger cousin quietly began unzipping the suitcase he had packed, as if invisibility might return and save him.
Elena opened the black folder and pulled out a second tab.
‘Before anyone says another careless thing,’ she said, ‘you should know Bradley anticipated a challenge.
He left signed copies of prior demand letters regarding unauthorized use of his name, evidence of attempted access to his accounts, and surveillance stills from an earlier visit to this property during his hospitalization.’
Declan went pale.
That was when I knew.
Bradley hadn’t just expected them to come.
He had anticipated exactly who would touch what.
Elena placed three still images on the dining table.
In the first, Declan stood in Bradley’s study during the week of his hospitalization, one hand inside a drawer.
In the second, Fiona held a folder open beneath the desk lamp.
In the third, Marjorie used her key at the door while glancing over her shoulder.
No one spoke.
