The diner booth smelled of stale coffee and damp rain as Elena slid a thick black binder across the table.
Elena: Read page forty-two. That's the certified copy of Julian's grandfather's original will before his uncle contested it.
Clara: Look at this signature line. 'Arthur Vance Estate, sole beneficiary subject to marital verification.'
Elena: Julian's divorce lawyer drafted an addendum that allows him to claim marital compliance even if his spouse is confined to a legal separation agreement.
Clara: He doesn't want a wife. He wants a signature to satisfy the probate court judge.
Elena: Exactly. Once you sign that prenup, you sign away your right to contest any financial records or file for alimony. You become an ornament on paper.
Clara: If I don't show up tomorrow, what happens to his inheritance?
Elena: The deadline is tomorrow at noon. The terms state that if he reaches his thirty-fifth birthday without an active legal spouse residing in the estate, the entire trust transfers to an independent charity fund.
Clara turned her head toward the dark street outside, watching the city bus pass by with splashing tires.
Clara: Tomorrow is his thirty-fifth birthday.
Elena: Yes. That's why he was so desperate to push the ceremony up by three months. He was running out of time.
Clara: What about Leo? Where is the custody hearing file kept?
Elena: In the central downtown office of Vance Holdings. Room 1402. But nobody gets in there without biometric access and a security keycard.
Clara: I have his spare keycard. He gave it to me last week so I could drop off his dry-cleaned tuxedo before the rehearsal dinner.
Elena leaned forward, her eyes wide with sudden intensity.
Elena: Are you serious? Clara, if you go into that office building at two in the morning, his private security will flag it within minutes.
Clara: Let them flag it. If Julian thinks I'm at home crying into my pillow over his threats, he won't check the server logs until morning.
Elena: What do you plan to do once you're inside?
Clara: I'm going to photograph every single page of the original trust fund audit, the real tax filings, and your son's guardianship transfer order.
Elena: You could get arrested for corporate espionage if his attorneys find out.
Clara: Not if my name is on the guest registry as his authorized fiancée. I'm going to make sure the probate judge sees the real Julian Vance before noon tomorrow.