I carried the briefcase out of the library and stepped through the double doors into the estate’s main dining room.

The twenty members of the extended Caldwell family sat around the thirty-foot mahogany table, where silver dessert spoons lay beside untouched slices of pecan tart.

Ethan stood near the carved oak sideboard, spinning his gold signet ring frantically around his finger while two older board members watched him in silence.

Richard walked straight to the head of the long table, took the envelope of certified hospital records out of my briefcase, and laid it flat beside his crystal water glass.

“May I have everyone’s attention before dessert is served,” Richard said, his formal courtroom phrasing cutting cleanly through the low hum of the room.