Chapter 12

We'd talked to Mr. Bell and Millie over a snack, and Rebecca caught them up on my spark of memory. I would have to manage it carefully, but sooner or later, I needed to own up to my life as Carl – but carefully.

"I think it's time to talk about your finances, Br – uh - David." Mr. Bell led off as soon as the steward removed our lunch cart. "You are doing quite well right now. The lawsuits we filed after the attack at Branson Airport were swallowed up by the Federal District Court, and mingled, intentionally, with the filings from the set that came before.

"Judge Jones handed off everything to a lower court for processing, then had it assigned to the Federal District. Your adversaries did not bother to mount a defense and ended up defaulting, again. Judge Jones tipped us off to a number of foreign currency transactions that we sued to reverse, then seized.

"The upshot of it all is your trust collected five-hundred, thirty four million dollars from seventeen currency transactions. The DOJ took one billion, two hundred sixty four million.

"They are ecstatic. The haul from the mob seizures has exceeded two and half billion for them. It's all found money, and goes into their discretionary fund. Your, or should I say, your trust received all funds free of tax burden, again.

"Colleen, Rebecca, Millie, and I were also paid thirty one million dollars each, under the Federal Court ruling from last time. If you wish, we will have all of that transferred to the trust."

I was too stunned to comment. The mob was being sued out of existence. Mr. Bell was a genius. Colleen was right up there with him. We were all very rich. "I don't know what to say, Mr. Bell. It's completely beyond my ability to comprehend."

"I thought so, too," he agreed. "Until I remembered they killed your mother, mortally injured you multiple times, and then killed you. As far as we are concerned, we'll continue to participate as long as they have fifteen cents, and make sure they have nothing to spend on crime, or killing, ever again." He was mad clean through.

"We need to muster on," Mr. Bell opened another folder. "You purchased three million shares of a startup rental truck company, last spring. We talked about the market, and you decided to have a sell order executed when the stock cleared thirty dollars a share. When you collected that first large windfall from the second truck crash, you purchased seven million more shares, at three cents a share.

"Your ten million shares began to sell when the stock shot past thirty, a few weeks ago. The sell off lasted for several weeks, and the average sale price came out to thirty-eight dollars and fifty cents a share. You netted, since the US Government excluded you from tax liability, for life, the full sale price of three hundred, eighty five million dollars, which also went into your trust.

"The stock continued to climb, by the way, and peaked at forty-one, twenty five, so the SEC should have no interest, since you got out well before the top.

"You did good." He smiled, then.

"You do remember, Mr. Bell, that the terms of my trust include equal access for all five of us, which means WE DID GOOD!" I looked at all four members of my family, when I said that, to make sure they understood, I meant it.

"We assumed you intended to take back full control, now that you aren't expecting to live such a short life."

"Mr. Bell," I said this with full sincerity. "I never intend to take back sole ownership. WE are a family, and WE will equally share my windfall.

"Well, you may, or may not change your mind, so we'll all agree that if you do, we will surrender our rights to your trust, Ok, everybody?" They nodded.

"I need to change the subject for a minute. Now that I'm dead, is there any reason to notify my father? With Beth and me dead, is he able to come after the trust? Is there any reason to notify him at all? It isn't like he ever was a father to me. Beth was very clear about his abandonment as soon as I was born, but, is there any legal obligation to let him know?"

"And Did anyone contact Sherrie when I died? I can't imagine being the one that had to break it to Jennifer, but Sherrie needs to know, and be reassured the trust will still take care of Jennifer."

Colleen spoke up, "I tried to call Sherrie to let her know you were very critical. When the helicopter took off with you and Rebecca, Daddy and I talked about notifications, and the only person we could come up with, that wasn't family, and didn't know through official channels, was Sherrie. She never called back.

"As for Brian's father, you are – well were – a legal adult, and could set your trust up any way you wished, and that includes specifying beneficiaries. Beth was part of the decision making, so it's not as if he could make an argument that you were coerced by strangers. Someone might try, but success is not at all likely. With the "family" millions outside the trust, any attempt to freeze the assets wouldn't affect us much at all. Certainly Clyde won't let anyone raid your trust, but I need to think on it, then we'll talk.