On a dreary April day, the family of Beau Crow gather at his estate to read his final will and testament. Though his sudden passing was unexpected, none among his family shed a tear, save for the assistant who has served beside Crow for four years, Olive.
The Crow family assembles in what was Sir Crow's favorite room of the estate: his office.
The family has always been estranged in a way. There was never a time they all lives under one roof, and there never will be.
Crow’s youngest son, Devan, whispers something into his wife Sarah’s ear. She grimaces in response and shakes her head. Their two children Fiora and Wilson throw murderous glares at the oldest grandchild James, who has bragged for the past twenty years of how he is the most likely to be the greatest beneficiary. His mother Jane jabs him to behave. The only person in the family nobody talks to is Carter, the middle child. He was always the strange one.
The executor puts on his thick glasses, holding up a copy of the will. The whole room holds their breaths. “I, Sir Crow, of sound mind and body, hereby declare and set forth my final intent for my estate, as follows:
First, I shall leave two billion dollars of my financial holding to my twelve main charity’s. This shall be managed by my lawyers.
Second, I shall have all seven of my estates sold and the finances left to the sole beneficiary of my inheritance.”
There is a collective gasp from the entire family, as the testamentary intent is revealed in its entirety.
“Third,” the executor says, interrupting her. “I shall leave the entirety of my financial holding to…to whoever can solve my murder.”
The rooms is stunned in shock, before an uproar erupts within the room.
“Murder?” Olive mumbles, stepping closer towards the family. She thought it was to many sleeping pills. And accident. “It-no“. She couldn’t imagine anyone harming Beau.
“Shouldn’t this be something brought up with the police or something?” Carter asks.
The lawyer shakes his head, like he would like the answer to that to. “Mr. Crow has made it complicated and…” his voice drifts off as he try’s to find the right words.
“And he screwed you over too?” Fiora asks. Her mother Sarah squeezes her arm, a forced smile still on her face.
“Please, let’s just finish this” the lawyer begs, his hands resting in his face.
The executor nods. “Mr. Crow has left a-well a guide to help you find the-um.” He looks even more uncomfortable than Olive who is trying to wrap her mind around everything said.
“This is for thee
Who chose to murder me;
A killer lies right here
In our humble family.
One of you has used me
One of you has stole
One of you has cheated
And one of you has tore
One of you have lied
And one of you have spied
One of you has no right
And one of you…caused me to die.
All of you have stabbed me
But only one has held the knife
Daughter, sons, grandkids
Or maybe my dear wife.”
In this situations there isn’t much to say.
“This is B.S!” Devan yells, breaking the silence.
“You can’t actually let him do this!” Erica cry’s, stalking towards the executor. The truth everyone knows, is that he can. Money can turn a will reading into one final jab at his family.
Erica falls back on her chair, hands to her temples. “What now?”
Carter drags his chair a little closer, a frown tugging on his lips. “We solve his riddle.”
Devan kicks the grounds and lets out a grunts “and who’s gonna get the money? Sure as hell not you.”
The two brothers fists coil into balls, each harboring there own desires. “One of us getting the inheritance is better than none. We can split it. I don’t know.”
Jane nods her head, but they all know that nobody here is going to share. This family is full of familiar strangers.
“One of you has used me” Carter says. Jane grimaces.
“And what are we to do with that?” Jane says, dragging her son James closer to her. Devan and Sarah do the same with their children, dividing the room.
“There’s eight people here. And eight accusations. If we could just narrow down who did what, we can find the-“
“Are you insinuating one of us killed your father!” Erica gasps, putting her hand to her chest.
“Well grandma” James says, mimicking the sneer of his mother. “The will does single you out.”
“That does not mean I killed him for goodness sake!” Erica’s face turns red as she scolds her grandson.
“Enough” Carter yells over the arguing. “Let’s just find who killed dad.” The words send a shiver down Olives spine. They speak as if they are trying to narrow down who will make it past a cooking show.
“One who has used me” Carter repeats. “Anyone wants to own up?” The room is silent.
“Listen, we are getting no penny if nobody says a damn words!” Devan yells.
At that moment Sarah breaks down in tears. Devan comes running towards her, the tips of his ears still red.
“It was me” she cry’s out, though the tears seem more out of shame than regret.
“What do you mean” Erica asks, her voice filled with disdain. Most people in the room are aware of what she did, even her husband. None care.
“The job” is all she says, wiping the tears away. That’s all she needs to say.
As his assistant many years ago, she had constant access to his home, and she saw an opportunity in the vulnerable state that he was in at the time. This ultimately lead to her marrying Devan, and inheriting a fortune that was never hers. But she has far from done the worst thing in the room.
Everyone is silent again. The executor and lawyer argue in a corner, while Olive write everything down on a note.
“Well” Carter says, clasping his lips together. “One down, six to go.”
“Stole” Erica says, her lips pursed tightly into a line. “We’ve all done that.”
Carter shakes his head. “Who is someone that he would feel the most betrayal for. Stabbed in the back.”
“I-“ Fiona says, but Wilson kicks her in the leg. James turns to them and grins.
“Let the idiot talk.”
Fiona sticks out her middle finger at the both of them, and Erica gasps.
“My dear brother” Fiona continues “has something he’ll like to admit.” He shakes his head.
Devan grips his son shoulder, pulling the posh boy towards him. “Tell me, or I swear you’ll get nothing.”
Wilson gulps. “I-well, it was-“
“He stole grandpas tax money” Fiona blurs out. Wilson shoots daggers at her and she smiles. “During the summer when we went to work for him. I caught him pocketing the money.”
“Fiona!”
Carter shakes his head but continues.
Through gritted teeth, Devan whispers “we will discuss this later.”
“Cheated” Jane says. “I bet it’s mom.”
“I thought she killed him” Wilson says.
“I did not!”
Carter shushes his sister and nephew. “While I have no doubt our mother has cheated, I have an idea of who actually did that.”
“Who?” Olive asks, and the whole family turns to her. They scowl.
“Jane.”
Janes head turns so rapidly the corners of her visions blurs. “What do you mean by that!”
Carter grins. “Don’t you recall how you got your nice fancy job?”
Jane grows quiet. No one besides Carter knows how she got her job as CEO of a tech company. It wasn’t her hard work, or excellent credentials. It was her father forged name on a recommendation to their rival company. She cheated her way to success.
“Ok” Jane says, change the subject. “So did our mother murder him?”
“I did not!”
“Only she can tell” Carter’s says.
All eyes fixate on Erica.
“I don’t think I need say anything. Just no, I didn’t kill your father. Goodness!”
“If you want the money, tell us!” Devan says.
Erica looks down, and then to Carter. “He’s dead anyways.”
He didn’t understand what she means until the next words come out. “I lied. Carter, your not his son.”
The room bursts out in gasps and accusations, but Carter doesn’t move. He has always been an outcast. A shadow in the family. Now he know why.
“Are you ok?” Olive finally says, kneeling besides Carters chair. His family is to busy arguing to see.
He spares her a smile and nod, before focusing on his mother again. He must push down the anger for a little while longer.
“Right.”
“Pardon?” Erica says.
“Right” Carter repeats. “I have no right. I’m not his son.”
Everyone nods in understanding, sparing as much sympathy as the family know to show.
“Tore, spied, and died” Fiona says nonchalantly. “Who’s next?”
“Anyone wants to admit anything?”
Fiona rolls her eyes. “The dead man can’t get mad” she says leaning forward. “The summer we worked for him dad made me sly for him to find who the beneficiary will be.”
“Fiona!” Devan yells.
“We will discuss all this, later” Carter says, placing a hand up. “Tore and killed. Anyone else?”
Wilson shrugs, slumping down on his chair. “This secret is much better than murder” he says. “Tore. The same summer I tore the will Fiona forged.”
“You forged a will!” Erica yells.
“Again! We will discuss all this later” Carter says, and his voice fades when he faces Devan. “Die. All that’s left is die.”
Devan shrinks back. “I didn’t do it!”
“But your the only name left!”
Devan shakes his head. “I didn’t kill him! I didn’t!”
Erica’s lips curls in disgust and everyone steps away. Even his wife.
Then, as if a light switch turned on, they remember; the will.
In a second they are all sprinting towards the will, pushing and shoving. James almost makes it to the table, before Erica shoved him to the ground.
“DEVAN!” She yells.
The fighting and shouting stops to watch the executor.
He looks at the lawyer, and then back to Erica. “I’m sorry, that’s incorrect.”
“James. Wilson. Fiona. Jane. Goodness, anyone!” She yells. He shakes his head.
Slumping back on the ground, Carter places his hands to his head. “I don’t get it.” He says, massaging his temples.
“I do.”
They all look to Olive, some shocked, some annoyed.
“What?” Carter whispers.
Olive steps towards the executer. “The answer is Beau Crow. Beau Crow killed himself.”
“That’s ridiculous, the bastard is too narcissistic” Erica says.
With a nervous smile, the executer nods. “That is-um, correct Olive Grey. You may inherit Beau Crows inheritance of twelve billion dollars, along with all his assets.”
Everyone uncomfortably shifts.
“What. The. Hell” Fiona says.
Carter laughs, though it’s almost tearful, and Erica and Devan screams. “She can’t! She’s not part of the family!”
The executer frowns, and points to the will. “She is mentioned as a beneficiary, along with all the other staff in this house.”
Erica yells again.
The family stalks towards Olive, as she backs away. She didn’t expect to be given-well, everything! She just wanted to put an end to the yelling.
“How did you know” Olive hears through the yells of the family’s.
She meets Carters eyes. How could she explain years of watching Mr. Crow grow hatred towards his family. How could she explain the time she saw Darren dealing drugs, and how he likely sold the pills to his father, being the one to “make him die.” How could she explain so much they missed, because they never cared.
So all she says, are the last words he ever said. “Only you can truly end it all.”
The mystery of the Crow manor was solved, but that wouldn’t be the last death to take place there.
