Renata arrived at the ballroom twenty minutes later because the documents required my signature before she could submit the next filings. I had planned to meet her outside, but my mother intercepted us near the entrance. Simone saw the folder stamped with my father’s trust name and immediately demanded to know why an Army lawyer was involved. Renata remained calm. She explained only that financial records connected to an inheritance established for me were under formal review. My mother’s face changed before anyone mentioned an amount.

My father had created the education trust shortly before he died. Bank records showed that more than $214,000 had originally been designated for my schooling and later transferred into an account Simone controlled as trustee. Instead of paying my tuition, substantial amounts had moved toward Brianna’s education, family-company expenses, and renovations on the house Simone shared with Desmond. That was why my academy application had mysteriously “disappeared” years earlier. If I had used the fund, someone eventually would have asked where the money had gone.