Bennett arranged for separate legal advice about my role and discussed potential conflicts and the trust’s defense.

He was careful not to promise a result.

“There is documentation of Arthur’s intentions,” he said.

“There is also a process for examining it.

Be patient.”

We gathered the grocery receipts I still had, calendars showing Sundays when we had dinner together, birthday cards from Arthur, and messages in which he asked about Maya’s exams or Elise’s health.

None was a clever legal weapon.

Together they reflected a friendship that had existed long before the disputed documents.