Lori’s eyes narrowed. “Including Fedor’s death?”
Mr. Crockett’s eyes lowered. “No. I don’t believe Fedor’s death was anticipated. Unless she says so in her letters to Trina, there is nothing here.”
Trina spun in a circle, grabbed her purse. “I have to get out of here.”
Lori stood, walked Trina to the door.
Outside, a man doubled in size by either steroids or a millennium in the gym pushed to his feet.
“You work with Neil?” Lori asked as Trina started to storm past him.
“I do.”
“Don’t leave her side.”
He pivoted and followed his assignment.
Lori turned back into Mr. Crockett’s office.
“She’s had a hard couple of months.”
He indicated the chair and returned to his seat. “The fact that she’s not jumping at this estate says a lot about her character.”
Lori leaned forward. “What was Alice thinking, Dwight?”
“I’m not completely sure. I tried to talk to her about the concerns of leaving her estate to her daughter-in-law. What happened if she and Fedor split . . . what happens to the estate then? She didn’t listen.”
“Is there anything in the will regarding a possible divorce?”
“There is. If a divorce occurred at any time, half of whatever the estate was worth at the time of the divorce went to Trina, the other half was split between her sisters and Fedor.”
“So she did consider all the possibilities.”
“Damn near. I haven’t found any loophole yet. And I’m looking, since I don’t trust Ruslan not to toss this into court, contesting Alice’s sanity in the end.”
Lori leveled her eyes. “Is there any question of that?”
Dwight rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’ve known Alice for thirty years. That woman was sharp as a tack. Smart beyond her years and pulled away way too soon. But I made sure to have a doctor back up my own knowledge with an evaluation the day after she changed her will.”
“All clean, I’m assuming.”
“Squeaky. Alice did this on purpose. Tell your client to hold tight. She doesn’t have to do anything with Alice’s estate anytime soon. The houses she owns are all being maintained by the money set aside in the estate to do so until Trina takes control.”
“Houses? How many?”
“A few. It’s all spelled out in here.” He removed a second copy of the will and handed it to Lori.
Lori stood, placed the stack of papers in her briefcase. “I’ll be in touch.”
He stopped her before she walked out of the office. “Lori?” She turned. “Ruslan Petrov is a dangerous man. If he is cornering you in my office building, he sees you as a threat.”
“I figured that out.”
“And he despises strong women.”
Lori lifted her chin. “Then he is bound to hate me.”
“Be careful.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Dwight.”
Chapter Eighteen
Lori called the driver from the morning’s commute to drive her to Trina’s estate.
Within a half an hour, she was en route out of the city and on the phone.
“Our client’s father-in-law cornered me,” she told Sam from the back seat.
“Explain ‘cornered.’”
Lori told her about Ruslan’s actions. “I’m not going to lie, he rattled me.”
“I don’t like this, Lori.”
“I’m not exactly a fan either.” She watched the city disappear behind them as they entered the tunnel and left Manhattan.
“Extra security for you.”
“I don’t have anything the man wants.”
“If that’s true, why did he approach you in the first place?”
Lori hesitated.
“I’m calling Neil.”
“Sam!”
“You can argue, but you’re not going to win. Where are you now?”
“On my way to Trina’s.”
“You’re staying with her?”
“I am.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure there’s a shadow for you when you land back in LA.”
Lori groaned.
“Get over yourself. I’ve had a shadow forever.”
“You’re married to a duke,” Lori reminded her.
“As if anyone cares about that kind of thing these days.”
Lori shrugged. “It impresses people I name-drop on.”
Sam laughed. “Text me your flight information.”
There was no use arguing with the woman.
Besides, she was right.
Once Lori hung up, she flipped around in her cell phone until she located her flight information and forwarded it to Sam. Daytime security only. My brother is staying at my place for a couple weeks.
We’ll see. was Sam’s reply.
When Lori pulled up into the gates of Trina’s estate, security met her at the door by name. Trina was still bouncing off the walls.
“I don’t even want this house,” she yelled after Lori explained a few more details of Alice’s will.
“In a year you can sell them all.”
“It’s all a massive responsibility. And now Ruslan is threatening you.”
“Men like Ruslan intimidate through fear. You take away that control by keeping your cool and not letting him see you sweat.”
Trina glared. “Are you telling me you didn’t sweat?”
“I said don’t let them see you sweat. Ruslan is massive and his bodyguards make him look small. Does the man miss a meal?”
Trina smiled for the first time all day. “Why is he bugging you?”
Lori circled the sitting room they were talking in and opened the curtains wide. “Because he can’t get to you. Maybe he thinks I have some say over any of this.”
“Watch yourself. He’s mean.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Did Avery call you?”
“Yes, she’s coming tomorrow. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.”
“Avery’s a handful,” Lori reminded her.
“She’s also self-confident and headstrong. Two things I could really use right about now.”
“In the meantime, we need to draft a plan for you.”
“Plan? What kind of plan?”
“Your estate.”
It took a full minute for Trina to speak. “A will.”
“You’re worth a ton of money. The sooner you have something, anything, in writing the better.”
“I’m young and not ill.”
“It doesn’t have to be extensive. Just the bare minimum. Who you want the estate to go to if something happened. We can amend and add at any time. Think of it this way . . . if the plane crashes, everything that has landed in your lap will now be tossed into probate and most likely end up with the likes of Ruslan. If you’re okay with that, fine. If not. Let’s jot a few things down, have it notarized, and done. I have a colleague who specializes in estate planning and wills. When you want to add more details, we’ll bring him in. Or you can go to him directly. Whatever you want.”
Trina lifted her hand, palm up. “Let me read Alice’s will.”
When someone with as much money as Alice Petrov dies, the world knows about it. About the time Reed found the numbers and information on his own, the media in all the financial magazines and websites took little time announcing the findings in Alice’s last will and testament.
Katrina Petrov was now worth in excess of $383 million and some change. With Everson Oil investing in pipelines and solar, the diversity and growth in the company was up 15 percent in the last quarter alone.
Reed dug up information on Ruslan Petrov, which included pictures.
The thought of this man towering over Lori and threatening her had him seeing red. Men who used their bulk in preying on women needed a few minutes alone in a dark alley alongside someone twice their size. While not twice the man’s size, Reed wouldn’t hold back if given a chance to even the threatening score.
Now the big question was, what had set Ruslan Petrov’s sights on Lori in the first place?
It was well after two in the morning, and Reed was on his third pot of coffee. His computers smoked from use and his eyes blurred.
A massive tackboard flanked an entire hidden wall in his office. An image of Lori sat center, with strings to the women he’d met on the cruise. His client, the one paying him to search for hidden information, sat beside Shannon with a string. Next to Shannon was her ex-husband’s picture.
Lori represented the women in their divorces.
Only Trina didn’t divorce. So how was she linked?
By two thirty, Reed found an article about Fedor’s death in the financial pages. His estate wasn’t left to his brand-new bride. It wasn’t left to his mother, who he knew was dying. No. His minimal shares in the oil company were spread among his aunts and their families. The bulk of his estate went to a multitude of charities. His wife . . . Trina . . . was left their residence and the financial ability to keep the home going for five years after his death.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Trina Petrov was willed the amount of money specified in their prenuptial agreement. Five million dollars and any gifts bequeathed to her during their marriage.
Five million dollars from an estate worth well over one hundred million.
Reed followed the bouncing ball and found Lori’s name as the attorney that set up the agreement between husband and wife, premarriage.
A sticky note went next to Trina’s picture with five million written on it.
Then he looked up Avery’s divorce settlement. Five million and a condo.
Shannon . . . seven million and the house in Southern California.
Reed scribbled a house next to Trina’s five million.
He stood looking at the board, arms folded over his chest.
He knew how all these marriages ended. And since he met Lori with these women, it’s safe to say they all had the same lawyer, and the same general plan. The numbers were big, but not shocking when you considered the worth of the players. All these women were young. Their marriages brief.