Chapter 2 wedge

【Huge inheritance】 The letter arrived by courier last week. The envelope is very high-grade, and you can tell when you touch it. The paper is made of old cotton cloth with holes in it. When you hold it up to the light, you can see the watermark.Now the letter is in the duffel bag, which is in the luggage compartment above my head, but I can still see the creamy fabric, and the tactile feel of the letterhead, which read: Downing & Hooper LLP, Eleven Bedford Street, London. When the courier knocked on the door, he was holding a letter and a clipboard, and asked my name. He said: This is a special case, the sender asked to check the document.

I showed him my driver's license and signed the delivery note.He handed the envelope to me.I put the delivery envelope on the kitchen counter and unzipped the plastic zipper. Inside was a thick, creamy little envelope. I just stood by the sink and read the letter. □□□ Dear Mr. Campbell: I am the trustee of an estate, the vast majority of which has not yet been delivered to the recipients.It was only recently learned that the recipient may have had a close relationship with you.Because I don't have your phone number, I went to Xinfushang and hope you can contact me as soon as possible.

We need this urgently to get things sorted out, so I would be grateful if you could call as soon as possible, collect collect on the line below. Also, in order to protect your own interests, please keep it strictly confidential until our interview. Sincerely, JF Pitcher Private Practice Lawyer Downing & Hooper LLP I walked four blocks to Valencia Street to call a payphone.A piece of the plastic microphone has been knocked off, but the dial tone can still be heard when placed close to the ear.After three operators, the collect call to England was finally connected. It was the secretary of the law firm who answered the phone, and she said that Mr. Pichard was not on the table, but I could speak to a Jeffrey.Mr. Kahn talks.Mr. Kahn answered the phone, out of breath.

It turns out that you really exist, my God, James will be back soon, he will be very happy.I'm afraid that if the phone is disconnected later or something, can you give me your phone number first?We had a hard time finding your address I currently do not have a phone. Oh, I see.So please hold on, James will be on the phone shortly.Excuse me, your grandmother Another voice appeared, it sounded older, and the enunciation was very clear, which was a bit strange. I'm James.Pitcherd.Jeffrey, I'll take over. Kahn excused himself and hung up the phone. Pitcherd said: First of all, thank you for calling, Mr. Campbell, please allow me to confirm your identity, so as not to make a big mistake.Can I trouble you to answer a few simple questions?

I press the metal button on the payphone to turn up the volume. Can. great.Also, this is not an official investigation, and you are not obliged to ignore us, but it may well be of interest to you.All the information you provide will only be used to solve this matter and will be kept strictly confidential.Could you please tell me what Lingtang's full name is? Elizabeth.Mary.campbell. What's your maiden name? Martel. place of birth? San Francisco. Thanks.What is Ling's grandmother's name? I hesitated.Charlotte.Grafton, I don't know if there is a middle name. Nevermind, do you know where she was born?

Somewhere in England. Great, thank you for answering my question.Why bother?Let me explain it simply for you.About eighty years ago, our firm was commissioned to draft a rather peculiar will. The client passed away shortly after the will was completed.But it is very strange that the main donee has never come forward to receive the inheritance; what is even more strange is that the will set up a trust fund and clearly requires that the inheritance be kept until it is handed over to the donee or his descendants.However, due to various reasons, this legacy has not yet been handed over. Pitcher paused.A faint female voice came from the other end of the phone, and Pitcher covered the receiver to answer her question.

Excuse me.Pitcherd said: "I didn't see a document until recently that you may have a relationship with the recipient.I don't want to give you false expectations, but we've waited a long time to get what our customers wanted, and for the first time in decades this is the first time an actual lead has emerged.I must stress that all of this has to be kept private, not just for our needs, but for yours as well.Too much attention can get in the way of your inheritance. I said I understand. He added: I know it's not easy to digest so many things in one breath, especially with the Atlantic Ocean between us.You can verify our company's information through any channel, go check it out.Can I ask you some more questions?Not sure where to find your family information?I mean, is there such material, and if so, can you get it?

I am not sure. In addition to your birth certificate, there are documents from the Lingtang and, most importantly, documents related to your maternal grandmother. I don't know if there is one, but I can look it up.Our family doesn't seem to have anything from my grandma. I'd be very grateful if you could look it up.Jeffery will give you a checklist to let you know which documents we need. A fire truck passed the street, its siren increasing in frequency as the distance approached, and then gradually decreasing as it passed. Pitcherd said: Noisy.you are outside I'm calling a public phone.

oh.Pitcherd sighed.No wonder Jeffrey couldn't find your number.One last thing, I should mention that you don't have to answer right away, but I was wondering if you would like to come to London at our expense.This case is a bit tight in terms of time, if you can come over in person, it will speed up a lot. I don't know, it should work. I would be very happy if you could come.As far as I know, you are still in college, right? just graduated. Congratulations.So maybe you can delay the time to enter the society a little bit, and come to England first? Maybe think about it.I'll turn the call over to Jeffrey first, so he can discuss confidentiality and itinerary details with you.You can always go to him if you want, and you can go to me, of course, but you will find it easier to go to him.

Pitcherd took a deep breath before continuing. Mr. Campbell, I must give you a piece of advice.Do not discuss this with family members until you have carefully examined your feelings.I don't encourage deception, but if this inheritance really belongs to you, it comes from Lingtang's family, and has nothing to do with other people, including your father, your stepmother and stepmother's children. I hope you can handle it carefully. I see. Then I will transfer the call to Jeffrey, and hope to chat face to face next time in London. That call was four days ago.After four days of living like a year, I finally got on the plane this morning. It was my first time in business class. The flight attendants kept delivering food, champagne and coffee until the cabin lights went out and everyone put the seatbacks down.I lie under a blanket with my eyes open for an hour, then turn on the reading light and pull out my notebook.

□□□ August 5 British Airways San Francisco︱New York I didn't sleep much last night, and now I'm on the plane and I still can't sleep.I've done so many plans and waited for the right moment but suddenly I got on a plane to London because I had no choice but to stay where I was.This really taught me a lesson. I have to see a lawyer tomorrow, I haven't found anything useful, they still want me to come, why? It doesn't matter, I'll be in London in four hours anyway, that's all I know, and that's enough. I closed my notebook and leaned my head against the cold window frame. I woke up to a pink sunset shining through the double windows.Ice crystals formed outside the windows, dew from California, hardened in the thin air.Between the gaps in the cumulus clouds below, a jagged black coastline and dark green land appeared.There is a large blue and white glaciers in the sea, which is Iceland.I'm in Europe. Before leaving, I asked Jeffrey.Kahn: How can anyone leave money to someone who is too lazy to claim it? Kahn sighed.Even if I know the answer, I can't tell you.How much customer-related information can be disclosed is up to the trustee. You can ask James when you arrive, but I don’t guarantee that he will say. I understand. Anyway, if I say that, it shouldn't be considered a leak. Please say. It was 1924, and those people were different from you and me.