Inheritance Intrigue
The lawyer's office was a tomb of mahogany and leather, the kind of place where fortunes were made and broken behind closed doors. Two weeks after the funeral, Ava and Lucian sat side by side in stiff wingback chairs, the weight of grief still heavy but now laced with the mundane cruelty of paperwork. Robert Harper's estate attorney, a balding man named Elias Grant with wire-rim glasses and a voice like rustling paper, cleared his throat and adjusted the will in front of him.
Mrs. Blackwell, he began, nodding at Ava, Mr. Blackwell. Thank you for coming. As you know, your father's will was straightforward in most respects, debts cleared, small bequests to his old trucking crew, the family home to you, Ava. But there's more.
Ava leaned forward, her hand finding Lucian
