CHAPTER 4: The Folder With the Old Seal

Lena helped Charles sit back against the base of the staircase.
He tried to apologize with his eyes.
She shook her head once.
Not now.
The folder under her arm was plain cream stock, the kind banks used when they wanted money to look quiet. A round embossed seal pressed through the cover.
Celeste noticed it only when Lena stood.
“What is that?”
“Something Dad left where you couldn’t find it,” Lena said.
Mason laughed. “A sentimental letter? A diploma? You came back with paper?”
Lena opened the folder.
The first page carried the Vistion Foundation seal. The second carried signatures from three trustees Celeste thought were dead or irrelevant. The third carried a judge’s temporary order issued that afternoon.
Celeste’s smile thinned.
Lena did not raise her voice.
“Effective six o’clock tonight, every power of attorney filed by Celeste Vistion is suspended pending fraud review.”
The chandelier hummed above them.
Mason stopped laughing.
Charles closed his eyes, and for the first time that night, his shoulders lowered.