“No,” she repeated, louder. “That isn’t possible.”
Marian turned the page.
The certificate was genuine.
The marriage was legal.
Which meant Julian’s marriage to me—performed six years earlier—had been legal first.
His secret ceremony with Elena was bigamy.
But that was not what made Elena scream.
The third document did.
It was a beneficiary amendment for Julian’s life-insurance policy.
The original beneficiary had been Elena.
Three weeks earlier, Julian had changed it to his mother.
Elena read the signature twice.
Then she looked at Beatrice.
“You said we were family.”
Beatrice’s expression remained cold.
“You were useful.”
The words struck Elena with the same cruelty Julian had used against me.
Her eyes widened.
She turned slowly toward him.
“You told me Vivian was the obstacle.”
