Chapter 5
"Evelyn," Jennifer said, glancing up, already annoyed. "Is this really necessary? We have somewhere to be."
"You'll want to hear this," Charles said, taking his seat, "before you go anywhere."
He opened the folder in front of him and slid the first document across the table, angled toward Matthew.
"The house you're currently living in," Charles said, "was never part of Robert's individual estate. It has been held, since 2019, inside the Evelyn R. Brooks Living Trust. Robert transferred the title into Evelyn's sole name five years ago, as part of a broader estate restructuring designed specifically to protect her in the event of his death."
Jennifer's smile faltered. "That's not what the will says. Matthew inherits the house."
"The will," Charles said, unbothered, "addresses assets held individually by Robert at the time of his passing. This house was not one of them. It belongs, and has belonged for five years, entirely to Evelyn."
Matthew's face went the color of the tablecloth. "Mom. Is that true?"
"It's true," I said, my voice steady, the same voice I'd used for three weeks pretending to be smaller than I was. "You've been living in my house for five years without knowing it, Matthew. And two months ago, your wife stood in my foyer and told me the family dog and I would be sharing a room."
Jennifer's mouth opened, closed, opened again. "This is insane, you can't just—"
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"There's more," Charles said, sliding a second document forward. "Robert and Evelyn also jointly purchased a private residence in Naples, Florida, in 2013, held under a separate trust. Current market value, along with the associated investment portfolio Robert built over the last thirty years, brings the total combined estate under Evelyn's control to just over seventeen million dollars."
The silence in that room had weight. Jennifer's phone slid off her lap and hit the carpet, and for once she didn't reach for it.
