A pile of crisp white paper bound in blue legal covers lay on the polished walnut desk.

I slipped quietly into the room, reached over the blotter, and turned to the third page of the draft agreement.

Paragraph four sat in the middle of the page in heavy, dark type.

It said that once the settlement was signed, full administrative authority over Ethan’s trust fund would pass immediately to the law practice of Bradley Collins.

The language gave Collins sole power to move trust capital into private corporate holdings without any prior court approval or notice to the beneficiary.

“Madison?” Evelyn’s voice drifted down from the far end of the hallway.