Richard motioned for Marcus to lean in closer.
“That is why we are going to do this systematically. Tomorrow morning at nine o’clock, my corporate attorney, Julian Vance, arrives to review my quarterly filings. Instead of just seeing him, I want you to hand-deliver a sealed, confidential addendum to his office before he gets here. In that document, I am restructuring my entire estate. The eighty-two million dollars won’t go to Natalie. It will be placed into an irrevocable trust managed by an independent board, with a very specific rider attached.”
“A rider?” Marcus asked, his brow furrowed.
“A forensic audit clause,” Richard said coldly. “The moment of my death triggers an immediate, mandatory independent criminal investigation into the cause of my demise, led by private investigators and toxicologists of Julian’s choosing. If foul play is detected—which it will be—every single asset, property, and cent is frozen indefinitely, and Natalie is permanently barred from inheriting a single dime.”
Marcus stared at him, astonished by the sheer tactical brilliance of the plan. “And where do I fit into all of this, Mr. Holloway?”
“You are going to be my witness and my executor for this first crucial step,” Richard said firmly. “Furthermore, the trust will include a dedicated philanthropic endowment. It will fully cover Ava’s reconstructive surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital, paid out immediately upon the execution of this document, with a lifetime medical stipend for her care. In exchange, I need you to do something dangerous.”
Marcus did not hesitate. The thought of his sister suffering while a wealthy socialite plotted murder crystallized his resolve. “What do you need me to do?”
“Tomorrow evening, when Natalie brings my customary evening tea, do not let me drink it,” Richard instructed. “Instead, while she steps out to make her nightly phone calls to her lover, Damien, you are going to switch my ceramic mug with a sterile laboratory specimen container. You will seal it, label it, and lock it in the secure medicine refrigerator using my personal override code. When Julian arrives the following morning, that sample goes straight to an independent toxicology lab before the nurses can dispose of the residue.”
