Chapter 2 - MARTIN HALE AND THE MIDNIGHT CALL
I pressed a linen napkin to my forehead, stood without answering, and walked back to the cottage. I locked the door and opened a safe hidden beneath the bedroom floorboards, which contained my passport, medical directives, three sealed trust documents, and a secret black phone. At 11:47 p.m., I called Martin Hale, the lawyer who had protected my family’s assets for twenty-six years. He answered on the second ring, and when I told him to activate the Mercer Trust protections, he asked if I wanted all of them. Looking at the blood on my sleeve, I ordered him to freeze the residence, revoke Ethan’s management authority, and move the liquid assets beyond his reach, noting simply that my son had made a mistake.
