They might not have planned to kill him.
But they had weakened him.
Confused him.
Made him vulnerable.
That night, I didn’t sleep.
The next morning, Michael arrived at exactly ten.
Alone.
Calm.
Too calm.
“Morning, Mom,” he said. “I brought the paperwork.”
I let him in.
We sat in the living room where Robert and I had lived our entire life together.
“Explain it to me,” I said.
He blinked.
“What?”
“Explain what these documents do.”
He tried.
But it sounded rehearsed.
Halfway through, I placed David’s documents in front of him.
“And this?” I asked.
I watched the color drain from his face.
“Where did you get that?”
“Doesn’t matter. Who is Horizon Capital?”
His jaw tightened.
“A potential investor.”
“One partially owned by Brian,” I said calmly. “And shell companies linked to you.”
His expression hardened.
“You’ve been talking to someone.”
“Yes,” I said. “The truth.”
The mask cracked.
“The business needs to move forward,” he snapped. “Dad was getting sentimental.”
“No,” I said quietly. “He was protecting people.”
Silence filled the room.
Then I placed the trust documents in front of him.
“Read.”
He did.
Confusion.
Then disbelief.
Then anger.
“This isn’t real.”
“It is,” I said. “And your father made sure of it.”