“The starting capital for the Vance Family Charitable Trust was four hundred thousand dollars in 1994,” Chloe said, tapping her fountain pen three times on her legal pad.

“Where did the principal come from?” I asked, sitting on the edge of the leather chair.

“An out-of-state wrongful death settlement,” Chloe said.

“Filed in Cook County, Illinois, after Eleanor claimed her husband died in an industrial chemical explosion.”

I opened the certified copy of Julian’s birth record that Chloe had pulled from the state archives.

“Is there a certified death certificate attached to the foundation’s probate filing?”

“None,” Chloe said.