Thomas’s smile vanished. His face turned a ghastly gray. “Husband? She was eighty-two and locked in a care facility! She didn’t have a husband. This is a scam.

Robert—tell me this is a scam.”

Robert grabbed the documents, his hands trembling as he flipped through the certified marriage license, the medical evaluations confirming Hazel’s full mental competency at the time of the wedding, and the final decree of asset transfer.

“It’s… it’s real, Thomas,” he whispered, the color draining out of him. “The marriage was registered a week before she passed. The bylaws hold. He has the voting power.”

FINAL PART

Thomas lunged across the table, his composure shattering into raw rage. “You parasitic piece of garbage! You manipulated an old woman on her deathbed!

You think you can walk in here and take what my father built? We’ll tie you up in litigation for thirty years. You won’t see a single dime!”