Chapter 12 - The Second Trust
Catherine's second trust was enormous.
Her father had owned manufacturing land outside Houston that later became part of a major commercial development corridor. The trust had grown quietly for decades.
Current value: nearly two hundred million dollars.
Beneficiary: Ethan Vance's first biological child.
The trustee named in the original document was a bank in Switzerland.
The trust activated at birth.
Eleanor had no legal access to it.
But she had spent years trying to prove it did not exist.
Preston Hale had requested records from the Swiss trustee six times.
Each request had been rejected.
Sarah stared at the documents.
"So this wasn't only about control of Vance Holdings."
"No," Ethan said. "She wanted both trusts."
The next question was how.
If Eleanor became guardian of the baby, she could influence distributions, challenge trustees, and use litigation to freeze assets for years.
If Sarah died and Ethan was framed as unstable, Eleanor could present herself as the only available family guardian.
The plan was not elegant.
It was relentless.
Then Preston Hale resurfaced.
He called Ethan directly.
"We need to talk."
"Tell the police where you are."
"If I do that, Eleanor will bury me before I testify."
"She's in custody."
Preston laughed nervously. "You think Eleanor is the top of this?"
Ethan's expression changed.
"Who is?"
Preston lowered his voice.
"Your uncle Malcolm."
Ethan nearly dropped the phone.
Malcolm Vance, Robert's younger brother, had served on the company board for thirty years. He was the one person who had publicly defended Ethan during every family crisis.
"That's impossible."
"Ask who financed Northbridge Advisory."
The line went dead.
Ethan pulled the corporate records.
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Northbridge's first investor had been a private holding company.
Owner: Malcolm Vance.
