Samuel nodded.
"Good. We will need them."
Richard and Helen appeared at the entrance to the lobby.
They had followed them.
Samuel noticed their arrival.
"Mr. Hayes."
Richard approached.
"Samuel. Thank God you're here. Maybe you can explain to everyone that this is being blown completely out of proportion."
Samuel did not smile.
"Mr. Hayes, I am here to review the estate records. I am not here to mediate a family disagreement."
Richard's expression tightened.
"That's exactly what I need. A professional review."
Samuel looked at the documents.
"Then you should have no objection to an independent examination."
Richard hesitated.
"Of course not."
Samuel turned another page.
"However, I need to inform you that certain transactions appear inconsistent with the trust agreement."
Richard's mouth tightened.
"Which transactions?"
"Those involving transfers from the protected beneficiary account."
Richard immediately shook his head.
"That money was used for legitimate purposes."
"Do you have documentation establishing that?"
"Yes."
"Then you may provide it to the review team."
Richard looked at Helen.
She appeared increasingly distressed.
Samuel continued.
"Until the review is completed, no additional transfers should be made from the affected accounts."
Richard's voice rose.
"You cannot freeze my business accounts."
"I haven't said that."
"You're threatening my company."
"I'm protecting the trust."
Richard stepped closer.
"You don't understand how these transactions work."
Samuel closed the folder.
"I understand the trust agreement very well. I helped draft its final administrative provisions."
Victoria looked at him.
"Mr. Whitmore, what was the original value of the trust?"
Samuel glanced at Daniel.
Then he answered.
"At the time of your father's death, the combined assets designated for the two beneficiaries were valued at approximately eighteen million dollars."
Victoria felt her breath catch.
Eighteen million.
She had never known the amount.
Richard had always described the estate as complicated, burdened by obligations, and far less valuable than their father had supposedly claimed.
Samuel continued.
"Your father established separate allocations, together with a number of shared assets. The exact distribution was specified in the trust."
Victoria looked at Daniel.
"How much was allocated to me?"
Samuel opened another document.
"Your individual protected allocation was initially valued at approximately six million dollars, excluding certain property interests and later investment returns."
The number seemed impossible.
Victoria had spent much of her adult life living modestly.
She had never expected a fortune.
She had never asked her father for money.
She had paid her own expenses, built her career, and tried to avoid becoming dependent on the family business.
And while she was doing that, someone had apparently been moving money from an account established specifically for her.
Richard interrupted.
"Those figures are misleading."
Samuel looked at him.
"They are taken directly from the signed trust valuation."
"That valuation was outdated."
"Then provide the updated one."
Richard said nothing.
Victoria turned toward her brother.
"How much of my allocation is left?"
Samuel examined the statements again.
"I cannot give you a final figure until the reconciliation is complete."
"But can you tell me whether the money is still there?"
Samuel hesitated.
Then he looked directly at her.
"Some of it is."
Victoria felt a wave of relief.
"How much?"
Samuel turned another page.
"According to the preliminary statements, a substantial portion remains in the original investment structure."
"And the rest?"
"That is what we need to investigate."
Daniel placed another document on the table.
"There is also the matter of the property transfer."
Samuel looked at it.
His expression changed immediately.
"Where did you obtain this?"
"It was included in the package Mr. Hayes left with me."
Samuel studied the document.
Then he looked toward Richard.
"Did you authorize the transfer of the waterfront property?"
Richard's face became rigid.
"It was part of the restructuring."
"That is not what I asked."
"It was necessary."
Samuel slowly placed the document down.
"Mr. Hayes, this property was specifically designated as a protected trust asset. It could not be transferred without the approval of the independent trustee and the required beneficiary consent."
Richard looked at Victoria.
She felt her stomach tighten.
"What property?"
Daniel answered.
"The Hayes waterfront residence."
Victoria knew the property.
It was the large house where she had spent most of her childhood summers.
Her father had bought it decades earlier, long before the family became wealthy.
It had always been described as the family's permanent residence.
Victoria had assumed it still belonged to the estate.
Samuel looked at her.
"The property was transferred into a company registered under Martin Blake's name."
Victoria stared at the document.
"Why?"
Nobody answered.
Richard finally spoke.
"It was a temporary business arrangement."
"Why was my consent forged?"
Richard's face turned red.
"I didn't forge anything."
Victoria pointed to the signature.
"Then who did?"
Richard looked away.
Samuel carefully placed the document into a separate section of his briefcase.
"This requires immediate review."
Helen suddenly began crying.
"Please. Can't we stop this?"
Victoria turned toward her.
"Stop what?"
Helen shook her head.