The Last Option

Two days later, when Bernard was getting ready to leave the hospital, he received the news of the Hicks' funeral. Thomas, Laura and Camila were with him helping him pack his things and the baby's things, when Phil Wilcox arrived with the "How lucky we found out in time," Bernard said. "Is it right now?"

news.

Phil nodded.

"Mr. Randall kept everything practically secret from the company staff," Camila said sadly. "I'm finding out right now."

"But there's a problem," Phil said, "the funeral seems to be for family members only. I found out from my friends at the funeral home, they already did the cremation and now they are putting their ashes in the family mausoleum. No one has been told anything at the company, and they continue to work as if nothing had happened."

"That awful!" Thomas said. "Mr. Hicks was very good to everyone at the company, I'm sure they will want to say goodbye to him, at least those who made up the administrative floor with him, like Camila, who was his secretary for many years." "It's true," Camila said. "I'd like to say goodbye to him properly."

"Besides, it's a matter of respect," Laura said.

"But you can't," Phil said resignedly. "I'm not allowed to attend, even though I was his personal lawyer and the main lawyer of his company."

"Can that guy do that?" Bernard asked, obfuscated. "Nothing can be done?"

"I'm afraid not," Phil said. "Nathan had no one closer than his sister and his cousin; some distant family members but all of them are out of the country, so only they and Norma's parents and siblings will be there." "And has his sister arrived?"

Phil nodded.

"She's leaving everything in the hands of Louis Randall, which doesn't surprise me. He knows how to handle her very well."

"Well, we should go to the funeral," Bernard said, finishing packing and looking for the cane the hospital had provided to help him walk. "At least we owe that to Nathan and his wife."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Phil said, "at least in your case. You must rest and recover."

"If I needed rest I would stay here," Bernard said, looking him straight in the eye, and then he half limped out of the room, leaning on his cane. Laura carried the baby in her arms, while Thomas took care of the bags and Camila carried the baby carrier.

It only took them fifteen minutes to get from the Mercy to the cemetery. They were in Camila's car, who parked near the Hicks family mausoleum. Laura decided to keep the baby, while Thomas and Camila helped Bernard out of the car. Further back Phil arrived in his Mercedes-Benz and joined them.

"Looks like you changed your mind, lawyer," Bernard said maliciously.

"We should at least try to go. Come on, the mausoleum is over there. Camila and I came a long time ago to fix some business and update the mausoleum."

"Yes, that's why I remember where it is," Camila said.

They went to the mausoleum and when they arrived they found at least six men dressed in suits and ties, apparently bodyguards, who were guarding those present at a distance. They could see through the suit they were burly and looked intimidating. Seeing them approach, two of them went to confront them.

"I'm sorry, this is a private ceremony," said the one who was apparently the leader of the group, a man with a shaved head, a hoarse voice and dark glasses that reminded Bernard of Dwayne Johnson. "We ask you to stand down, please." "We are friends of the deceased," said Bernard, "we want to say goodbye to them properly."

"Well, it is a strictly family ceremony," the man said, looking everyone up and down and realizing they were not dressed according to the moment. "I repeat: retreat."

"We'd better go," Camila said. "They won't let us get there."

"Pay attention to the lady," said the man, this time with a cynical smile, "it's better to avoid a bad time."

Bernard considered the situation for a few seconds, if he wasn't still convalescing, that gorilla and his men wouldn't have been able to prevent him from being present at his friend's funeral. Full of anger and indignation, he decided to withdraw, turning his back on those men and returning to where the car was.

"Trust me, it's for the best for now," Phil said. "We'll come later to put flowers on them."

From where he stood Louis Randall realized what had happened and kept still and silent. He recognized the figures of Camila, Thomas and Phil in the distance and smiled slightly when he saw them walk away again, refocusing his attention on the words of the father speaking in front of them. Neither Rebeca nor Norma's relatives noticed.

Back in the cars, Bernard leaned against Camila's as he struggled to keep stay calm after what had happened. Phil leaned back next to him.

"What happened?" Laura asked from the passenger seat. "Why did you come back so soon?"

"They didn't let us pass," Camila said, sitting next to her in the driver's seat. "They said it was a strictly family ceremony. No friends, no employees, just family.”

"It's a shame," the old woman said, turning her attention to the baby and as Thomas sat in the back seat of the car, "and a nasty thing too. They shouldn't act like this."

Outside, leaning from the car, Bernard watched the group of people in the distance in front of the gray building of the mausoleum. Beside him, Phil glanced at him from time to time, wondering what was going on in the man's head.

"We must be cautious," he said after a while. "You have the baby with you and it's not good to expose him for now. Louis is doing all the procedures to put himself in charge of the company, while helping Rebecca takes possession of Nathan's assets."

"Only Rebeca has the right to everything?" Bernard asked after a while. "What about Norma's family? Will they inherit nothing?"

"Nathan couldn't change his will in time. The only will that exists for now is where his sister inherits everything in case they both die, as it has indeed happened. If only Nathan had died there would be no problem, because Norma would have had everything."

"I already know that, lawyer. Tell me something I don't know, such as: what are you doing so the child inherits his fair share?"

Phil peeked inside the car, hoping the others had not heard what Bernard asked.

"I'm collecting the evidence for everything that Nathan and his wife did from conception to death," he said quietly. "With the DNA tests and the expenses they made for the maintenance of the womb of your wife, I think it will be enough to prove the parentage of the child. And of course with your statement in front of the Grand Jury. The assets he has transferred to you are not included in the inventory of his assets, we made them disappear from the records in time so there has never been evidence of them."

"And what did they cost? How can a BMW and a luxury apartment disappear? Their purchase must be recorded somewhere."

"I see you are a smart man. Don't worry about it; the company's foundations have contributed a lot in recent years with charities. Everything is set. The important thing now is to know how to enter the filiation request without making mistakes. Louis has very good lawyers, and we must not make mistakes."

"When will that be?"

"When I have all the evidence."

"Hopefully soon." Bernard continued to stare at the group of people in the distance for a few seconds and then boarded the car with a bit of difficulty. Phil helped him into the back seat.

"We'll be in touch," he said, and then went to his Mercedes.

Camila started her car, leaving the cemetery soon after.