Julia
“Ambush me?” I repeated in question.
Van nodded. “Look at it from his point of view. Your sudden desire to take an active role in Wade Pharmaceutical is more than business to him. It’s personal. You left his son at the altar. Because of you, his plans to profit from the company are ruined. You belong at the helm of Wade, and if Marlin is half the ass I know him to be, he’ll use every opportunity to make that transition difficult.”
“My grandfather’s wishes can’t be overturned by a shareholder.”
“They can. I looked at your grandfather’s will and discussed it with some of the best minds on my legal staff. The fulfillment of your grandfather’s wishes is an assumption of norms.”
My eyes narrowed. “Grandfather has been gone for nearly ten years. His will went through probate. It’s set.” I shook my head. “My dad wasn’t happy that Grandfather changed the succession order of ownership of the family shares from him and Mom to me, but it’s set. And it was Grandfather who mandated that my mother take on the co-CEO position. All those things happened.”
“Because your parents didn’t fight them. Do you remember telling me that the stipulation in his will mandating that you marry is archaic and misogynistic?”
I had said that.
“And what did you say you could do?”
“Fight it…in court.” Saying the words made them real. The information I’d read about Van, the hurdles he faced in court. My eyes opened wide. “Can Marlin fight the will in court? How? He doesn’t stand to inherit. Those shares belong to me, to McGraths. It’s what Grandfather wanted.”
“Unfortunately, in the world of high finance, there are few absolutes.”
“Help me understand.”
Van took a deep breath and turned his computer screen toward me. “Any filings made in the courts are public record. When I spoke with your father the other day, I informed him of what my team had found.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“I’m telling you now. All that’s visible—that is public at this point—is a petition to contest Herman Wade’s last will and testament.” He pointed at the screen. “I hadn’t mentioned it before because I was hoping we’d have more information before heading to Chicago.”
“Marlin is challenging my grandfather’s will on what grounds?” I recalled learning about this subject in some class at Northwestern. It was a professor who liked to go down rabbit holes, ones that at the time seemed unimportant. I lifted my hand. “In the state of Illinois, the petitioner would need to challenge by questioning my grandfather’s mental health. It wasn’t in question.”
Van nodded.
“Or he’d need to claim that the will is a forgery or fake or that a later will was written. The fact that my parents have followed the stipulations up until now should nullify that claim. And there’s one more…” I tried to remember.
Van spoke, “There is also a challenge stating that an outside party exerted undue influence on the creation of the will and one stating that your grandfather was unaware of the contents of his will, which is not provable since he’s passed.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back. “Marlin can’t prove any of those things.”
Van’s expression seemed unusually solemn. “The petition was filed by a large legal firm in Chicago, not the firm that Wade employs, and there isn’t a name on the petition. It’s the law firm Abbott and Jones versus the estate of Herman Wade.”
I blinked as I tried to make sense. “When was this filed?”
“December 23rd. My team found it Monday, later than I would have liked. I wanted to know more before I told you.”
“It has to be Marlin,” I said.
“He makes the most sense. When I spoke to your father, he had no idea. The holidays are fucking with the flow of information. The courts closed the afternoon of the twenty-third. Those dealing with this particular litigation are on recess until January 3rd.”
“Doesn’t this sound like Marlin?” I asked. “He had the sale of shares planned for the holidays when Skylar and I would have been gone.”
“It does, but I can’t prove it.” Van tilted his head. “He’s almost too obvious.”
My lips pursed before I replied, “Occam’s razor.” Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best one.
“There is that.”
“My dad knows about the petition?”