Chapter 5 - The Lily Trust
Daniel had heard of the Lily Trust only once.
His father, William Ashbourne, mentioned it two days before he died.
At the time, Daniel thought the morphine had made him confused.
"Your grandfather left safeguards," William had whispered from his hospital bed. "Not for you. For the next child."
Daniel had never asked what he meant.
Now he called the family attorney, Henry Cole, at four in the morning.
Henry arrived before sunrise carrying a leather briefcase and a face full of dread.
"I hoped this day would never come," he said.
Daniel almost laughed. "My mother tried to drop my baby down a staircase. You should've hoped harder."
Henry opened a folder.
The Lily Trust was not named for Daniel's daughter. It had been created forty years earlier by Daniel's grandmother, Lillian Ashbourne.
The first direct descendant of Daniel's generation to have a living child would trigger a transfer of controlling shares in Ashbourne Holdings.
Not to Daniel.
To the child.
Until Lily turned twenty-five, her legal guardian would control the voting rights.
Rachel stared at the papers. "So Lily owns the company?"
"A controlling interest," Henry said. "Effective on her first birthday."
Daniel frowned. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
Henry looked uncomfortable. "Your father instructed me not to disclose the trust until sixty days before activation."
"Lily turns one in seven weeks."
"Yes."
Torres asked the obvious question. "If Lily dies?"
Henry went still.
"Control reverts to the senior surviving Ashbourne beneficiary."
Daniel didn't need to ask who that was.
Celeste.
Rachel pushed her chair back so hard it scraped the floor.
"She wasn't trying to scare me. She was trying to kill Lily."
Henry raised one hand. "The trust alone is motive, not proof."
"We have video of her drugging my child."
"And that is very serious."
"Serious?"
Daniel stepped between them before Rachel could throw the coffee cup in her hand.
Then Henry's phone rang.
He listened for less than ten seconds before his face drained of color.
"What?" Daniel demanded.
Henry lowered the phone.
"That was my office. Someone broke into the trust archive tonight."
"What did they take?"
Henry looked down at the folder.
"The original document."
Then he added, "And there's only one person besides me who knew where it was kept."
Daniel already knew the answer.
"My mother."
May you like
Henry shook his head.
"Your father."
