Chapter 10: Everything That Was His
Diane filed the report on a Wednesday.
Amanda was there when she did it.
She sat in the chair across from the investigator — a methodical woman named Sgt.
Karen Howell who asked every question twice and wrote the answers in a small notebook — and she told the story from the beginning again.
The photographs.
The marriage certificate.
The recording.
The forged document.
The threatening message.
Sgt.
Howell set down her pen when Amanda finished.
"Ms.
Carter, I want to be direct with you.
This is a serious file.
We have potential bigamy, fraud against an estate, and identity fraud.
The DA's office will review it, but I want you to understand — this kind of case takes time."
"I understand," Amanda said.
"In the meantime, if Ryan Blake contacts you in any form, you document it and you call me." She slid a card across the desk.
"Do not engage.
Do not respond.
Just document."
Amanda took the card.
Outside in the hallway, Diane put a hand briefly on her shoulder.
"You did the right thing," she said.
"I know," Amanda said.
"It still feels strange."
"It always does.
That doesn't mean it was wrong."
Ryan contacted her that evening.
Not by message this time.
He called.
Amanda let it ring.
It went to voicemail.
She didn't listen to the voicemail.
She screenshotted the missed call, noted the time, and sent it to Diane.
He called again the next morning.
She let it ring again.
On Friday, Gerald called with news.
"The estate trustee has been informed of the situation," he said.
"They've suspended any action on the inheritance pending the investigation.
Ryan's attorneys have already been in touch — they're arguing the marriage license is valid and the condition is satisfied."
"Is it?" Amanda asked.
"Their argument has significant problems," Gerald said.
"The license was obtained through misrepresentation.
Melissa's marriage was never legally dissolved.
Any marriage to you would have been void from the start." A pause.
"His attorneys know this.
They're buying time."
"How much time do they have?"
"The deadline passes in nine days.
If the investigation is active and the license is contested, the estate condition will not be considered satisfied.
The money goes to the charitable trust."
Nine days.
Amanda thought about Ryan's face in the courtyard.
The calculation behind his eyes.
Four million dollars and a deadline and a woman he had decided was useful.
"Gerald," she said.
"The boy.
Daniel.
Does any of this affect him?"
A pause.
"Not directly.
The estate has no provision for grandchildren.
Whatever Ryan loses, Daniel doesn't lose it — he never had it to begin with."
"And Melissa?"
"That's a family law matter.
Separate from the estate.
But yes — if Ryan faces criminal charges, her divorce proceedings become significantly more straightforward.
The courts don't look kindly on fraud."
Amanda thanked him and ended the call.
She sat in her kitchen for a while.
Sophie came home from school and dropped her bag by the door and came to find her.
"Anything new?"
"The estate is frozen.
The deadline is in nine days.
His lawyers are fighting it."
Sophie sat down.
"Will they win?"
"Gerald doesn't think so."
Sophie was quiet for a moment.
"What happens to him after?"
"I don't know exactly.
That's up to the DA and the courts."
"Do you care what happens to him?"
Amanda thought about that honestly.
"I care that it's handled correctly," she said.
"I don't need to watch it happen."
Sophie nodded slowly.
"I called Melissa today," she said.
Amanda looked up.
"How is she?"
"She filed for divorce.
She said she'd been waiting for a reason that felt solid enough." Sophie paused.
"She said you gave her that."
Amanda looked at the table.
"She did that herself," she said.
"She said to tell you that too." Sophie almost smiled.
"She said you'd say exactly that."
Outside, the evening was coming in slowly.
The kitchen was warm.
The tea Amanda had made an hour ago had gone cold, and she hadn't noticed.
She got up and poured it out and put the kettle on again.
"Sophie," she said, with her back to her daughter.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for running."
Sophie didn't answer right away.
"I saw the picture," she said finally.
"And I thought — if I don't move right now, I never will."
May you like
Amanda turned around.
"That's exactly right," she said.
