The line went dead and Ryan hung up. "Everything OK?" Thaelor asked seeing the look of concern on Ryan's face. "Not sure...but we're going to find out."
The ride to the hospital should have been an omen. In an area where traffic is usually a constant, the traffic into Maryland was amazingly smooth and sparse. Arriving at the hospital, there were even more Secret Service agents around than usual. Arriving on the 3rd floor, the siblings go to the receptionist's desk, where a nurse at a computer simply tells them Room 3114.
Knocking on the door, they enter. Inside at a table sit 3 men instead of 2. The only one known to them was Thomas Rollins. The new member of the group was an older man. White skinned, hair that was more salt then pepper, and a slight paunch enveloping his belt. The last was the man from the room before. Even though he was sitting in the light, he was much more terrifying now.
"Ryan...do you have the paper?" Thomas asked.
Taking a seat at the table, Ryan reached into his luggage and pulled out the manila envelope containing the birth certificates. Handing them over to Thomas, Rollins swiftly looked them over. Satisfied, Rollins handed over a stack of papers with sticky arrows attached to certain pages.
"Ryan, as fast as you can, sign everywhere there's an arrow. No time to waste."
"Is this the paperwork that makes me Dad's executor?" Ryan asked as he signed.
"No." Rollins replied.
The tone in his voice was as deadly as a tomb. When Ryan had signed the last one, Thomas looked the paperwork over, then handed them to the white man that had joined them.
"What do you mean "NO" I'm not the executor?" A tone of irritation had risen in Ryan's tone.
"We had to change the paperwork. You won't be your father's executor, this paperwork made you his sole heir and rightful inheritor of his entire estate." Thomas answered flatly.
"What?" Thaelor exclaimed.
During the entire exchange, the sole white man in the group hadn't said a single word. His eyes were busily perusing the paperwork. Fussing over every line and dotted letter. Finally, he pulled a pen from his pocket and began to sign his name and stamp the paperwork. Finished, he pushed the pages back in front of Mr. Rollins.
"You said there was something else you wanted me to see?" The man said.
"Yes, your honor. We thank you so much for your valuable time."
Nodding to the enormous man sitting on the other side of the man Thomas referred to as "Your Honor," He pulled out a medium sized tablet, punched in some commands and handed it to man, along with a pair of earphones. The man sat idly for several minutes, every so often manipulating the tablet and giving it further commands. Finally, he took the earphones off his head and handed the machine back to the large man at the end of the table.
"I've seen enough. As far as the claim goes, I am satisfied with the findings and am ruling in your favor. Give me the paperwork. As for that other thing, I can't adjudicate that because I have seen this and of my obvious conflict of interest. However, I believe you have more than enough to sustain an indictment and I'll sign the warrant." Thomas passed along another small stack of papers, in which the man quickly signed them and placed a stamp at the end.
"Wait...indictment...warrant? What exactly is going on Thomas?" The large black man at the end of the table made a small sound to catch Thaelor's attention. Placing his finger to his lips, he called for her to be quiet.
After he was handed the paperwork back, Thomas separated the sheets and placed one in the stack from earlier and other he put off to the side.
The white man finally addressed the two young siblings. "First off, I am so sorry for the loss of your father. I'm sure it will take some time to move past this horrible tragedy, but rest assured we will bring the perpetrator to justice. He was a really good friend of mine and I won't rest until this is brought to its rightful and proper end. If you ever need me, just ask. I owed your father a few favors and I will gladly take care of you guys if I can." Standing, he shook Ryan and Thaelor's hand. "Thomas, I'll see you on the links later. If you need anything else for about an hour, I'll be downstairs in the cafeteria. Oh...and Ryan...tell your brother I said hello the next time you see him." With that, the man turned and left.
"Thomas! What the fuck is all that about?!" Ryan almost screamed.
"Ok...first of all...I need you to calm down and lower your voice. Remember we are in a hospital. Second of all, like I said, a lot has changed since you left. Like your father's brainwaves have decreased. He is all but dead. We were hopeful that the treatment they were giving him would help bring him around, but last night, he had a massive brain spike, then they all but flatlined. According to the doctors, that means for all intents and purposes your father is braindead. He's only being kept alive by the machines.:
"Fuck.!" Ryan said, slamming his fists against the table. A single tear fell from Thaelor's eye. Her hands trembling as she gripped the table with her palms. Ryan pulled her closer, hugging her close to him as she sniffed her grief. He had to be strong for her.
"Secondly, it took my paralegals overtime to prepare all this paperwork because of new evidence my assistant here gathered and delivered." Pointing to the other large, black man in the room, Thomas introduced him. "This is Phillip Graham. He's a former DCPD Detective and Secret Service agent. He was working on a couple different things for your father, when he went down. Now with his help, you have inherited approximately 2.35 billion dollars from your father's estate. The homes, the cars, the businesses, EVERYTHING!"
"So sorry to keep you in the dark like this." Said Phillip. "But, with what I've been working on, we thought it would be better for your safety."
"Ok...but, why do you say for my safety?" Ryan asked.
Pulling up one of the stacks of papers, Thomas handed it back to Ryan. Having really not inspected it earlier, Ryan finally saw the top of it: Dissolution of Marriage, Robert James Morrison v. Sharmel Denice Walters-Morrison.
"Before he had his stroke, Robert was in the process of divorcing Sharmel. We believe that was the reason she went to Europe. What really hurts her in the divorce is the fact Robert had her sign a Pre-Nuptial Agreement. I personally wouldn't let him get married without it. It stipulates that if she is caught having any infidelities, she only gets a severance of $250,000, her belongings, and she gives up parental rights to any children they might have had. Thankfully, they never did."
"Fine. But I know for a fact my Dad had several mistresses, so how does that work?" Thaelor asked.
"Hey." Phillip shrugged. "He who pays the piper, picks the tune."
"Ok...that explains the money and everything." Ryan interjected. "But it doesn't explain why Thaelor and I were in "danger," or warrants and indictments."
Thomas' brown eyes grew cold and distant. "We have evidence that Sharmel had your father killed. That was the second thing Phil was working on. When the judge was looking at the tablet, he was reviewing evidence Phil found at Shemel's apartment in L.A., an associate of hers here in D.C., and the medical records from your father's doctors. Apparently, this wasn't her first attempt. Phil uncovered at least 3 other tries. That was why the judge signed the indictment that I have to get downtown as soon as I'm done here with you guys."
"Ok...I know Sharmel isn't the "nicest" of people." Thaelor said. "But I find it hard to believe that she's a hardened killer!"
