章節 125: The Last Will
Gabriel lay in bed for days, staring at a dark ceiling. The curtains haven't been opened since he went to bed on the day he met Claire's parents.
His head was a mess. He was a mess.
It's been a month but the time has stopped for him. Every night he still relived that moment.
But recently, things felt wrong.
He couldn't place it but the more he thought about the more dubious he grew.
He couldn't stand that feeling anymore. He sat up on the bed and took out a phone. And then he hesitated. He knew he shouldn't do it, not yet, but the urge was too strong.
"Gabriel?" Mark answered in surprise after a long dial.
"If you're not up for it, say so." Gabriel started. "But I need information."
"What do you need?"
"Who wrote Claire's will? Where did the money for Claire's parents come from?"
"Gabriel…" Mark sighed.
"Look, if you ain't gonna do it, I'll find someone else."
"It's not that. It's only been four weeks. Let yourself grief before you throw yourself into another wild hunt."
"Okay." Gabriel agreed although he didn't mean it.
"Look, if you desperately need it, I'll have a look." Mark agreed.
"Is it Gabriel?" Zoe's voice sounded in the background.
Gabriel assumed that Mark nodded as within a second he heard Zoe on the phone instead.
"I don't know what you're planning on doing but we're grieving just the same and it's unfair on Mark to ask him to run around for you right now." Zoe sounded stern.
"Hi, Zoe." Gabriel said in his hoarse voice.
"What do you want?" Zoe asked sharply.
"Shush, darling. It's okay." Mark managed to get his phone back.
"Well, that answers some questions." Gabriel remarked.
"What do you need?"
"We'll talk later." Gabriel decided.
"Gabriel…" Mark sounded worried. "Please don't do anything stupid."
"When have I ever?" Gabriel asked with a slight grin. Mark chuckled in response.
"If I could only count all of the times." Mark let out a sigh. Gabriel knew which times Mark had on his mind and how they heavily weighted him down with a new wave of grief. "If you want me to come over, I will. You don't need to be alone."
"I'll talk to you later." Gabriel said before disconnecting. He stood up and dressed himself, forgetting a shower and any basic hygiene. It didn't matter. His thoughts ran wild as he rushed down the stairs.
He was putting on his coat clumsily, ignoring his dead arm, when the knock sounded on the door. He looked at it with a frown. He didn't expect anyone but also there were more people in his house in recent days checking on him.
He swung the door open to face one of the few people he hasn't expected.
"Watters?" Gabriel looked at the man in pure surprise.
"I've tried to reach you for days, Mr Moore."
"What brings you here?"
"May I?" Watters pointed at the inside of the house. Gabriel nodded and led him toward the living room. An unchanged room although it was broken so many times. The sofa was replaced with the exact model, the tv… it felt uneasy to look at how unchanged it really was, not bearing a mark of everything that ever occurred in it. The good as well. The walls were silent, missing the melodies being played on the piano.
Gabriel flopped on the sofa whilst Watters placed himself in the armchair. He was very clearly acting as if he was in a business meeting.
"I understand that you have been through a difficult time and I am here because of this sensitive matter. If you feel at any point that we must not proceed, I can rearrange it. Although it was challenging to catch you. I have been turned away many times already by your personnel."
"What's the matter, Watters?" Gabriel's curiosity has peaked.
"It is my duty to inform you of your inheritance."
"Inheritance?"
"Indeed."
"Who from?"
"Mrs Claire Elise Moore." Watters winced as he said still unwilling to believe that his boss genuinely signed the contract as ridiculous as that. Gabriel went quiet trying to process the information, wondering why Claire went to Watters for this and not her uncle.
"If I may go on, I have Mrs Moore's Will here." Watters said as he took out a document from his briefcase that seems to never have left his side. As Gabriel hasn't protested, he continued. "Mr Moore, you are given five million Pounds. And all of the shared assets with Claire Elise Moore née Thompson will be returned to you in full."
"Five million Pounds?" Gabriel repeated trying to logically make it make sense.
"The note left with it states that it is a repayment for all the inflicted costs."
"What repayment?" Gabriel's confusion grew. "What money?"
"The money comes from her personal account. It has been split between yourself, her family, and her friends. You receive five million Pounds. As well as all of your previously owned assets are back to your full capacity."
"And where did that five million Pounds come from?" Gabriel tilted his head.
"From Mrs Moore's personal accounts." Watters took out a document with the bank details on it. Bank details that Gabriel hasn't recognised and which were not his or the ones he had set up for Claire, nor any accounts he was aware of.
"When did she set it up?" Gabriel asked as his brain lazily tried to join the missing dots.
"The accounts? I am unaware, sir."
"What about the will?"
"It's the client's confidential information."
"She's dead. It doesn't matter now, does it?" Gabriel asked sharply. Watters stared at him silently with his face twisted in discomfort and disapproval. "Just tell me." Gabriel insisted.
"November 7th." Watters replied. It was while Gabriel was in the States.
"I see." Gabriel nodded.
"Thank you, Mr Moore. The money will be deposited promptly and I will see to it that all of the assets are back under solely your name."
Gabriel nodded. He didn't say another word as he looked at the part of Claire's Will which was specific instructions for him.
"Oh. Before I forget. This has been delivered to your office and I thought I'll bring it to you while I'm at it." Watters took out a slim envelope from his suit and then he left, leaving Gabriel alone with the turmoil of thoughts that were brewing inside of him.
Gabriel stared at the documents, reading a sequence of words, mostly legal jargon, describing exactly what accounts and how much Gabriel was to receive.
Before long, Mark walked in and stood in front of him. He looked worried, and he looked just like a person that has lost a friend. Part of Gabriel wanted to punch it out of him, but part of Gabriel also understood, and part of him wanted to yell at almost everyone that they don't have the right to grieve Claire as they didn't love her as he did. But he said nothing.
"Go on, Gabriel." Mark forced a smile. "I've managed to escape Zoe so you have me for a little while. What's going on?"
"Mark, something dodgy is happening." Gabriel said. Mark's eyes landed on the documents in Gabriel's hand.
"I've received money from Claire as an inheritance." Mark admitted before Gabriel continued.
"Where did she get it from?"
"So, it's not from any of the assets that you've given her?"
"No, she gave all of those back to me. She had at least fifteen million Pounds."
"I'm guessing that you've counted Zoe's and Gina's inheritance too?"
"No." Gabriel shook his head. "I've counted myself and Claire's parents."
"I didn't realise she had that kind of money." Mark sat down in the armchair that was occupied by Watters maybe half an hour earlier.
"I need to look into this." Gabriel said decisively.
"Yeah, I'm on it."
Gabriel's eyes fixed on him momentarily. He saw a flash of guilt. An unspoken apology. A friend who didn't know how to comfort him besides getting in the whirlwind of madness that Gabriel was.
"You don't have to."
"I know." Mark nodded as he stood up. "Where were you going?"
"I actually do not know." Gabriel admitted. "I was hoping to find someone mad enough to look into this with me."
Mark smiled reassuringly.
"How much am I even tracking?" Mark asked curiously, deciding to play the detective to distract Gabriel, and himself.
"She left me five million Pounds." Gabriel said openly. "And ten million for her parents."
"Then there's a million Pounds for myself, Zoe and Gina." Mark admitted.
"So, at least eighteen million." Gabriel added quickly the numbers. "I am not even certain how many people she included in her will."
"I'll come back when I know anything." Mark said before leaving him alone.
Gabriel sat on the couch and at last opened the envelope from Watters. The content of it shocked him, again, in a very different way. A list of postboxes across the country, bank saves, and storage blocks. The list felt endless. It took him a moment to realise what the list was. It was a list of where every bit of evidence against his father was hidden. The intrigue was growing on him. He returned to his study trying to locate where they were, searching maps. Some were known places, easily found, and some didn't even show on the maps. She was diligent, but he already knew this much. This single bit of paper held onto all of the secrets that she gathered for years.
A few hours later Mark walked into his study with a rather grim face.
"Brace yourself." Mark warned him before Gabriel could even ask.
"Go on."
"The money came from the driver that caused the accident."
"What?!" Gabriel's hand started trembling.
"Now, here's a bummer. It can be traced to another source." Mark paused. "The money was a bounty for Claire's life. The driver received it from your father."
"Is that some shitty joke?"
"No." Mark passed the documents to Gabriel.
"So, the driver claimed the bounty and gave it to her family and friends?"
"Indeed. She seemed to have given out seventy-five million between yourself and her family. Five million Pounds each. Then another five million Pounds spread across her friends. One million Pounds each. Then twenty million Pounds to charities."
"A hundred million Pounds?"
"Exactly half an amount of the bounty which was at two hundred million Pounds at the time of the accident."
"What happened to the driver?" This was a question that at first Gabriel didn't even think about, but suddenly he realised that there was yet another person he should be furious at.
"He was pronounced dead at the scene."
"And his family?"
"Disappeared with the money."
"Sounds about right." Gabriel mumbled as he looked through the documents more thoroughly. "Thank you, Mark. I am sorry for dragging you into this. You best get going." He put on a fake smile. He rather had him stay but he wasn't ready to say it. "Admittedly, I am a little scared of Zoe's wrath."
"She's at Gina's. I've managed to wriggle myself out though. So, you should be fine." Mark smiled more sincerely. "If you don't need me though, I'll take my leave. I am available so do call if you need anything else. If not, I'll come by in three days."
"Three days?" Gabriel raised his brows.
"I've ordered you a new tailored suit. Considering the occasion I thought it'll be best to…" Mark's words vanished.
"Whatever do I need a new suit for?"
"The funeral, Gabriel. The inquest in Claire's death should be concluded in two days and her funeral will be held in four days."
Gabriel remained silent. This was yet another thing that he refused to think about.
"Do you need anything else before I leave?"
"You don't happen to have any cigarettes, do you?" Gabriel asked hopefully.
"You're in luck." Mark took out a pack out of his pocket. It was opened but barely a single cigarette was missing. "Zoe has the same taste as you used to. I can get you more if you'd like."
"No. I just needed one or two." Gabriel shook his head feeling guilty that he even had this little of them. He felt as if he broke a promise to Claire.
"Let me know if you do." Mark said before he left Gabriel alone in the room.
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