Disclaimer: As before
Warning: As before
Author's Note: Apologies on it having taken so long to post up the next chapter, I've been so busy I simply haven't had time to write. I hope you enjoy the newest addition.
Bela brushed her long dark hair back behind her ear while sitting behind her desk. She was waiting on the group to show up for the reading of John & Mary Winchester's wills. Her deep green eyes turned toward the clock on her desk and wondered just when everyone was going to show up, though from the sounds in the waiting room she was betting that a fair few were already gathered. A sigh fell from the brunette's lips. It was sad to know that John and Mary were gone, but the circumstances surrounding the male's death, at least, were a little.. sketchy.
Sure, both had seemed normal enough, but Bela had a feeling that something more was going on in their lives. With another glance toward the clock she pushed herself to her feet, then smoothed out the black pinstripe suit jacket. Squaring her shoulders, Bela walked to the door and pulled it open to look at the miniature crowd that had gathered in the waiting room. Some of the faces she knew, others were unfamiliar to her. "Winchester?" She called out to see most of the heads turn her way. "Come in." The brunette stepped away from the door to allow the group to enter her office before closing it behind them. "Bela Talbot," she said while extending a hand to shake each of theirs in turn.
With only two chairs in her office most everyone had to stand, an older male and a young boy were the two to take the seats. Bela slipped behind her desk and sat again, gathering up the papers in front of her. "Well, we all know why we're here, hopefully everyone is accounted for. John and Mary had separate wills, and they also had a joint for their common items. We'll begin with the joint." She stated, glancing at the faces in front of her before diverting her eyes. "Their estate has been left to their three sons, Dean Mason Winchester, Samuel Tristan Winchester and Adam Joseph Milligan. The money within their joint account has been transferred to a trust fund for Benjamin Isaac Braeden in the sum total of $21,672. Benjamin will be unable to access the account until his twenty-first birthday."
At the mention of the money Ben's eyes widened before looking at his father who smiled lightly. The brothers had already known that the house was going to them, they simply had to figure out who would actually get the house. Dean didn't want it, not since he owned his own. Sam was unlikely to take it with his practice in California, and Adam owned his own business in Minnesota, so he was just as unlikely to take it. Hard telling where to go from there.
Bela cleared her throat to continue. "Unfortunately that is all they shared, everything else is divided separately." She stated while running her fingers through her dark hair again. "We'll move onto Mary's will now." Small things, like jewelry or money, even photographs had been set aside for various people gathered. Jo held onto Deans hand who knelt beside Ben in the chair across from the desk. Kevin and Adam leaned against the wall beside Jo, Sam and Jessica stood close by. Bobby rested in the chair beside Ben with Anna settled against the wall near him. Dick Roman stood at the back of the room, his arms crossed over his chest as he surveyed everyone. Several others milled about, waiting for their names to be called.
"John recently updated his will," Bela stated while glancing up at the group. Now for the part that had seemed sketchy. She watched as the elder Winchester brother's eyebrows furrowed and they shared a glance, though she said nothing more on it before turning her attention back to the page in front of her. "His shares and ownership in R&W motors is given fully to Robert Allen Singer. His 1979 Chevy Impala is left to his eldest son, Dean Mason Winchester. The money in his single account has been added to Benjamin's trust fund in the amount of $9,300. His 2000 Dodge Ram is left to Samuel Tristan Winchester. The key to his safety deposit box at the First Bank of Lawrence is given to his three sons." She finished and looked up toward the group. All eyes stared at her for several long moments as if trying to figure out what to do next.
"For anything that is left within the house, you'll need to set up a time with Sam, Dean and Adam to go and collect it." She told the group which caused most of them to leave.
"Ben, go wait outside with your mom for a minute, okay?" Dean asked and offered a gentle smile to the kid who nodded and left the room silently. When all that remained were his brothers and their spouses, himself and Bobby, Dean shifted his gaze to the lawyer. "How 'recently' did my dad update his will?" He asked now.
"Three weeks ago. He also asked that I give you this in private." Bela reached under the small stack of papers to pull out an envelope with Dean's name written on the front. "I'm sure that all of you know where everything is to split between everyone else." She stated, causing the brothers to give non-committal nods. It would most likely take a couple of weeks to sort through things to find each individual item bequeathed to everyone.
"Mr. Singer, I'll need you to stick around today, fill out a few things as far as the company is concerned." She told Bobby, who nodded lightly. He hadn't actually expected John to leave him everything for the company, he'd expected some sort of split between Dick, Dean and himself.
"Mrs. Talbot, you said there was a key to a safety deposit box?" Sam spoke up, drawing Dean from his thoughts.
"Mm, right. Here you go. There are specific orders that the three of you and the three of you alone are to be there when it is opened. Your father was very clear about that." She stated while looking at the brothers. Bela passed the key to Sam who held tightly to it. "Is there anything else?" She asked, glancing at each face.
Each one slowly shook their heads before standing and walking slowly from the office. "What's in the envelope, Dean?" Jo asked as they drew closer to the door.
"I don't know.." Dean admitted, scared to open it. He'd gotten as far as holding it within his hands and seeing his fathers handwriting on the front and couldn't push himself further.
Jo smiled knowingly before patting him on the back as they exited the office.
–
Everyone had gone their separate ways when they left the office, Dean had asked Lisa to take Ben back to his house until they finished at the bank. Bobby had agreed to meet them back at Dean's as well while Dick had stormed away, obviously irritated that he hadn't gotten more of the company. Jo, Kevin and Jessica returned to Dean's as well, letting the brother's take the drive to the bank alone.
Normally Dean would have protested anyone but himself driving, but as soon as they had stepped into the sunshine the envelope from his father seemed even heavier than before and he wanted a few minutes alone with his thoughts. Sam drove with Adam in the passenger seat while Dean leaned against the back door, staring hard at his own name in his father's hand. 'Just open it.' He commanded himself and quickly found that he couldn't obey it. The sheer thought of reading whatever his father had written actually hurt. Better to save it for later when he was actually alone.
"Bet dad left us something pretty cool." Adam was saying when Dean finally tuned back into his brothers conversation.
"Like what?" Sam asked, perking a brow.
"I don't know.. what would dad have that he couldn't just leave in the will and was so secretive about?" Adam asked in response. "What do you think?" He shifted enough in the seat to look back at his elder brother.
Dean quickly stuffed the envelope into his jacket pocket and shrugged. "Better question is: did mom know it was there?"
The question was obviously enough to shut everyone up until Sam pulled the car to a stop in front of the bank. All three found it difficult to open the doors, to take that first step in finding out what was hiding within the box inside. Finally, Sam couldn't take it any longer and climbed quickly from the vehicle and waved his brothers to continue.
As expected, each had to show an ID to get in, but the woman behind the counter offered a sympathetic smile and showed them to a small square room, then told them to wait while she collected their box. When she returned, she set a fairly large metal box onto the wooden table and took a step back. "I hope you have the key because we don't carry spares for them."
"We've got it." Sam replied, holding up the key.
"Well, take as much time as you need. Simply lock the box again when you are finished, then come and tell me so that I can put it away again." She said while backing out the door. When it was closed the brothers looked at the box for a long time, frowning darkly.
"Ready?" Sam asked, looking down at each of his brothers in turn.
"As I'll ever be," was Adam's reply. Dean merely shook his head. He wasn't, but they needed to see what was inside. He knew that if he were alone in this the box would sit on that table for hours, still locked, before he could decide whether to open it or simply walk away and come back later. Sam unlocked the metal box with a click that seemed to resound through the room for a long time afterward, then slowly flicked the lid open.
Slowly the brothers leaned, together, over the box to peer at the contents.
"Books?" Adam asked indignantly.
"Journals." Sam replied after having picked one up, "and ledgers from the company. Shouldn't these have gone to Bobby?"
"Maybe, maybe not." Dean answered, flicking through one of the journals and seeing rows upon rows of his fathers handwriting. "This one dates all the way back to when he was in the Marines."
"And this one is two weeks ago." Sam said while looking at a date and nothing more.
"What's this?" The youngest brother asked while plucking a thick yellow envelope that had been tucked into the side of the deposit box, almost unseen. Without waiting for an answer, he opened the envelope and flicked through several of the papers within before passing it to Sam. "You know more about this."
Sam grabbed the envelope and looked at the top page, then shook his head with a frown on his lips. "It's documents on the shop." He stated, flipping through the pages
"Sam." Dean called in his gruff voice while looking at the journals, unfortunately his younger brother seemed to be lost in his reading. He waited semi-patiently for several moments, then called for his brother again, this time louder causing both of his younger siblings to turn toward him. "I don't think mom and dad's death was an accident." He said grimly.
I know it ends with a somewhat cliffhanger, but that was meant to be!
