Chapter 7 — Attorney Rachel Vance

A black town car pulled up to the curb in front of the house.

The rear door opened, and Attorney Rachel Vance stepped out, in a charcoal suit, carrying a leather portfolio, followed by two private security officers in dark jackets.

She had been my aunt’s attorney for twenty years, and she was now mine, and she had spent the morning, while I sat learning the size of my inheritance, preparing for the possibility that this afternoon might require exactly what it was now going to require.

She walked up the path with the unhurried composure of a person who has never once, in a long career, been the least powerful person in a confrontation.