“You’re safe here,” she said calmly. “Tell me what you mean.”
Six months earlier, my father had passed away in Seattle. He left a sizable inheritance for Ava and her little brother, Noah. I was named trustee. The money was locked until the children turned twenty-five.
What I didn’t know was that there was a clause allowing a single custodial parent to request early financial control if the other parent was deemed legally unfit or absent.
Ava took a shaky breath.
“Daddy said if Mommy lost us, he could sign papers by himself,” she explained. “He said Mommy couldn’t handle big money.”
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Judge Ellis leaned forward. “How do you know about these papers?”
Ava glanced at her father before answering.
“I found them in my backpack. Daddy put them there when we went to his apartment. He told me to keep them safe and not tell Mommy. It said ‘Asset Transfer’ in big letters.”
Ryan made a strangled sound.
My attorney stood immediately. “Your Honor, we request a subpoena for Mr. Mitchell’s financial records and communications with the estate’s co-administrator.”
The judge granted it on the spot.
Over the next hour, everything unraveled.