“It’s okay, sweetheart,” I said, kissing the top of her head. “I’m here.”

Richard stepped closer to Vale, his shadow looming over the lawyer.

“You broke into my home and threatened my guests,” Richard said.

“The police are already at the gate.”

Vale slumped against the wall, looking like a man who had run out of options.

“I didn’t come here to hurt anyone,” Vale muttered, looking at the floor.

“Margaret is losing her mind, Emily.”

“She wanted me to destroy the evidence, but I couldn’t do it anymore.”

“She was going to make me the scapegoat for everything.”

He held out the manila envelope toward Richard.

“This is Arthur’s real will,” Vale said.

“The one he wrote three weeks before his accident.”

“He left the Greenwich townhouse and the entire core estate trust to you and the girls.”

“Margaret forced me to draft the fake one and file it.”

“She threatened to ruin my practice, to expose things from my past.”

Richard took the envelope, keeping his eyes on Vale.

He opened the flap and pulled out several pages of thick white paper.