Standing near my thirty two year old daughter Emmas coffin, I struggled to comprehend the scene unfolding before me. My sweet girl, who had been a devoted kindergarten teacher and eight months
pregnant with my grandson Oliver, was gone. The man who had promised to protect her, Evan Vale, stood nearby with his mistress Celeste clinging to his arm. We had barely laid Emma to rest when Mr Halden, the lawyer, announced my daughters final written instructions. He explained that Emma had designated me, her mother Margaret Ellis, as the primary beneficiary of her separate estate and entrusted me to oversee all her personal belongings. Evan immediately protested, dismissing her decisions as the result of emotional distress and
pregnancy hormones. Yet Mr Halden remained steadfast, confirming that Emma had privately and soundly reviewed every document. I was completely
