Chapter 6 - The Autopsy Clause
Meanwhile, back at the law office, Lucas sat perfectly still.
“Mr. Vance,” Lucas said quietly. “She refused the autopsy. Does that mean she gets away with it?”
Arthur smiled, a slow, predatory grin that made him a legendary trial lawyer in Chicago. “Oh, Lucas. You underestimate Jonathan.”
Arthur pulled out a separate folder from his briefcase. It was stamped with a red CONFIDENTIAL seal.
“Jonathan knew she would refuse,” Arthur explained. “The clause in the will was a trap. It was designed to test her reaction. Her immediate refusal was all the probable cause we needed.”
“I don't understand,” Lucas said.
“Before Jonathan passed away, he didn't just sign a new will,” Arthur said, sliding a document across the table. “He also signed a medical directive. Two hours before his death, he legally donated his body to a private medical research facility for study.”
Lucas’s jaw dropped.
“Victoria is not the legal custodian of his remains,” Arthur continued. “The research facility is. And per Jonathan’s explicit instructions, they conducted a full, exhaustive autopsy yesterday morning.”
Arthur flipped open the folder to reveal a heavily stamped medical report.
“The toxicology screen came back an hour before you arrived for this meeting, Lucas. Jonathan’s blood had lethal levels of synthetic digoxin. It wasn’t a natural heart failure. It was homicide.”
Lucas felt a chill run down his spine. Jonathan had orchestrated his entire revenge from a hospital bed, ensuring his killers had no way out.
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“What happens now?” Lucas asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Now,” Arthur said, picking up his office phone, “I make a call to a very good friend of mine at the Chicago Police Department.”
