Natalie answers slowly, thinking out loud. “I don’t think so. And I don’t think Jeremiah knew, either. If he did, he never mentioned it. She was so scared of being sent to a nursing home, she probably did it secretly so no one would know until after she died.”
Zen zooms in on a section near the bottom. “That’s not it. Look at clause 4C. The beneficiary must demonstrate independent living for no less than ninety calendar days from the time of the decedent’s passing. If not, the will can be challenged or a financial guardian appointed.”
Natalie straightens, realization settling in all at once. “She made my freedom a requirement.”
Rigs suddenly thumps the table. “That’s it!”
We all turn to look at him. What with the cross around his neck and the expression on his face he looks more like a fire and brimstone preacher right now. “The foster father and the brother are in cahoots. Good cop, bad cop. To get the inheritance you have to be free. But also if you’re unable to look after yourself, they can challenge the will. They played it both ways, knowing that somehow, they’d get their money.”
We’re all silent for a moment. Then Natalie speaks, “So that’s why he encouraged me to go. He can’t steal the inheritance from me if I don’t get it first. But if something happened and I came back, then he or David could use the clause and fight against the decision.”
Siege nods once. “Looks like Eleanor tried to use the system against itself in a desperate effort to get you free of the situation.”
Natalie nods, looking grief stricken. “She knew they wouldn’t honor her wishes unless they had no choice. She needed me out of that house, out from under their thumb.”
Rider gives a low whistle. “And they both sound manipulative as hell.”
“He’s waiting,” Natalie says without hesitation. “My foster father thinks I’ll come crawling back when things fall apart. If I do, he’ll say I didn’t make it on my own and challenge the inheritance.”
Rigs watches her carefully. “Would he sabotage a bike? Would he target Rick?”
“Yes,” she says immediately. “Well, maybe not him. He wouldn’t get his hands dirty, but he’d get someone else to do it. My foster father ran that house like a business. Every foster kid was a paycheck. He’s cold. Calculated. If someone gets in his way, he’ll find a way to deal with it.”
A quiet fury begins slowly burning in my very soul. Because in the back of my mind, I’m worried that her foster father and his brother are crazier than any of us imagine. They might even be crazy enough to kill her if they think their plan’s gonna fail.
Siege gazes at Natalie thoughtfully. “This is beyond legal channels now. You know that, right? This is something we’re gonna have to take care of on our own.”
The mood in the room shifts the second Siege says what we’re all thinking out loud. “Siege is right,” I say. “This is all speculation. Unless we find hard evidence, the cops aren’t going to arrest a fuckin’ preacher.”
Dutch folds his arms. “So what’s the plan here, Prez?”
Siege doesn’t look at anyone but Natalie. “We bait them. They’ve already made a move several times. There is a very good chance he’s the one who sabotaged Rick’s bike. My best guess is they’re not gonna stop until we fucking stop them. They wanted Rick gone because it would mean Natalie was without family support. They couldn’t anticipate her becoming Bear’s old lady.”
Tank shakes his head. “She can go back. Say it didn’t work out. We’ll come with a whole sob story. Maybe say Rick isn’t improving, that she’s scared, that she needs a roof over her head.”
The second the words leave his mouth, something inside me goes cold and sharp.
“No,” I say immediately, my voice cutting through his little plan. “That’s not happening. I’m not gonna stand by while my club brothers use you for fuckin’ bait.”
Heads turn towards me, but I don’t care.
Siege tries to explain. “If she returns before the ninety days are up, he can file to contest the will on grounds of dependency. It would lull them into a false sense of security, and make them think they have time. If we could get proof of wrongdoing, it could be used as legal leverage.”
I lean forward with one forearm braced on my knee, and lock eyes with Siege. “I don’t give a fuck about legal leverage. You’re talking about sending her back to live with people who mentally abused, starved, and exploited her. That’s not strategy. It’s putting her into danger again and that’s not okay with me.”
Siege frowns at me, like I’m the one being difficult.
I turn towards Natalie, because I need her to understand exactly why I’m objecting. “They want to use you as honest-to-goodness bait, hoping this fucker will say something incriminating. I don’t want you in that house, knowing your old foster parents are going to slave you out again and this uncle figure is trying to swindle you out of your inheritance. It’s a recipe for disaster.”
She meets my eyes without flinching.
“I think I should do this. I want to do it for my own reasons.”
Siege studies both of us, then speaks again. “The decision is hers and no one else’s. That cut on her back doesn’t mean you get to make her decision for her.”
“I goddamn know that already,” I snarl.
Natalie’s quiet voice cuts through our debate. “I’ll do it.”
