Chapter 9: The Seventy-Five-Thousand-Dollar Secret
Our attorney, Rebecca Shaw, met us at her office the next morning.
She had represented me in business matters for almost fifteen years, and I had never seen her look so troubled.
A thick file lay on her desk.
“Marcus,” she said, “I need you to understand that we're still verifying some of these records. We shouldn't assume every document is authentic.””
I sat beside Jasmine.
“Tell us what you've found.””
Rebecca opened the file.
“Danielle had a life insurance policy worth seventy-five thousand dollars. It was issued approximately six months before her death.””
I frowned.
“I handled Danielle's insurance. She had a policy through her employer, and I was the beneficiary.””
“This was a separate policy.””
“I never knew about it.””
“That's the problem.””
Rebecca slid a copy of the application toward me.
The policy listed Danielle as the insured person.
The beneficiary was Felicia Coleman.
I stared at the page.
“Felicia wasn't even part of our lives then.””
Rebecca nodded.
“According to your marriage records, you didn't meet Felicia until five years after Danielle died. However, the insurance application was signed by Danielle and witnessed by someone named Felicia Coleman.””
Jasmine looked confused.
“Could my mother have known her before Dad met her?””
“Apparently,” Rebecca said.
“But we need to determine the nature of their relationship.””
I rubbed my forehead.
“Why would Danielle leave seventy-five thousand dollars to Felicia?””
“That question is even more important because the policy's original beneficiary designation appears to have been altered.””
Rebecca turned to another page.
A handwritten amendment had been attached to the application.
The original beneficiary's name had been crossed out.
The replacement name was Felicia Coleman.
The amendment was dated two weeks before Danielle died.
I stared at it.
“Who signed this?””
“Danielle's signature appears on the amendment, but our document examiner has not yet verified it.””
Jasmine leaned forward.
“What if someone changed it after Mom died?””
“That's one possibility,” Rebecca replied.
“And if they did?””
“Then the insurer may have paid money to someone who wasn't entitled to receive it.””
I looked at the date again.
Two weeks before Danielle's death.
The same period when she had become too weak to stand without help.
I remembered holding her hand in the hospital while she struggled to finish a sentence.
I remembered promising her that I would never let Jasmine feel abandoned.
Had someone used those final days to take advantage of her?
“Was the policy paid?”” I asked.
Rebecca nodded.
“Seventy-five thousand dollars was paid to Felicia approximately twelve years ago.””
I gripped the armrest.
“And she never told me.””
“No.””
Jasmine covered her mouth.
“She took money from my mother's death?””
May you like
“We don't yet know whether she was entitled to it,” Rebecca said gently.
“But the records warrant a
