“You mean he undercut his kids and other grandkids?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”He frowned.“That’s weird.How much of an undercut?”
“He left seventy percent to her.”
Ryan stopped in his tracks.“Is that even possible?”
“Of course, it was his estate.He could do whatever the fuck he wanted with it.It happened when El was nineteen.The family tried to contest the will but they failed.They tried to imply James Forsythe-Drew was mentally incapacitated and too frail to have made such a decision, but his wife, and several doctors, testified to the contrary.”
“So, his wife was in on it?She actively helped cut the rest of her family out of the will?”
“Let’s be frank here, Ryan.When we’re talking about cutting the family out of the will, we’re still talking about each member getting a couple of hundred million apiece.And there are a lot of them.They’re not exactly on the poverty line.”
“No, I know that, but that doesn’t matter.When it boils down to those numbers, it’s about power rather than wealth.”He pushed his hands into his pockets.“How much is she worth?”
Adam whistled.“Close to ten billion dollars.”
Ryan’s eyes widened.“Jesus Christ.”
“I know.I about fell off my chair when I read the tax returns.She has so much money in so many pies in so many states and in so many freakin’ countries, just trying to catch a glimpse of it was like a spider’s web.”
“So, if that’s the case, that’s why she’s the one being targeted.She’s the richest of the lot of them.But who would know that?It would make sense for people to believe her father was, surely?I don’t know a lot about the family, but I knew of her and I know her father is the eldest son in his generation.”
“It’s not public news, but the court case did leak a little information before the family curbed it.”
“Do we have any idea why her grandfather acted that way?Did what he did?”
“As far as I can tell, El delayed going to college by two years.”
“Those years coincided with her grandfather’s death?”
“Yeah.There are pictures of him at the time.He was very frail, but they always prettied him up, you know?George Bush Sr style.”
Ryan’s lips twitched.“I know what you mean.”
“Every shot I saw, she was there.Along with her grandmother.”
“You think she was helping to care for him?”
“Well,” Adam started, wrinkling his nose again.“I highly doubt she was actively involved in caring for him, but being around him?Yeah.Definitely.They were close too, from all accounts.I managed to get in touch with a housekeeper who worked in the family residence during that time before she moved across the country for retirement.”
“How the fuck did you get in touch with her?”
Adam tapped his nose “I have my methods.But, Consuela said the family wasn’t close, but El was always with her grandparents.They were close knit.”
“You’ve done good, Adam,” Ryan praised with ease.“But I think I’d best do my own investigating on the personal score.I don’t want to hurt her feelings by getting the wrong end of the stick because something was reported poorly, you know?”
“Sure.I’ll keep on digging around though.Look into how far the news dispersed of her grandfather’s will.”
Ryan nodded.“Out of curiosity, when does she gain full access to her trust fund?”
“It’s an odd set of rules, actually.With every year, she gains another percent of access.So, she’s thirty-one now.She has thirty-one percent control over her funds.”
“No other bylaws?Stipulations on her getting married?”
Adam snorted.“Why?Thinking of marrying her for her wealth?”
