“Julian,” my father said, his voice dropping to a low, desperate pitch. “Name your price. Whatever the debt is, I will double it.”

“I don’t want your money, Richard,” Julian said. “I want my life back. I want my name cleared.”

Julian stepped around Arthur and handed the thick manila envelope to me.

The wax seal was stamped with my grandmother’s initials.

“Take it,” Julian said. “It leaves everything to you, Ava. The house, the land, the remaining trust. All of it.”

My fingers brushed against the wet paper as I took the envelope.

It felt heavy, like a shield.

“You’re making a mistake, Ava,” my father said, his voice cracking. “If you open that, you destroy this family.”

“You destroyed it when you signed my name to those papers, Dad,” I said.

My father took a step toward me, his hands curling into fists.

Arthur immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

“I am dialing the county sheriff now, Richard,” Arthur said.

My father paused, his chest heaving as he stared at the phone.