I'd Lie (Jacob Thrombey, Knives Out)

Chapter Five-The Will Reading

"Well," Allan, Harlan's attorney began. "Thank you all for getting together like this, it isn't legally necessary but I thought because you're all in town and some of you are leaving soon, it would be best-"

"Excuse me, Mr Stevens," Blanc interrupted at that point. Jennifer, seated in the shadows, leaned forward with interest. "As to that, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to gently request you all remain in town until the investigation is completed. Shouldn't be more than two days."

"He's gently requesting, I'm ordering," his fellow police officer, who Jen had finally learned was called Lieutenant Elliott, explained. "Nobody move until we figure this out." The Thrombeys didn't seem to like it.

"What?"

"Can we ask why?" Joni questioned. "Has something changed?"

"No." Blanc replied briefly.

"No it hasn't changed or no we can't ask?" Jen had to admit, that was a pretty good comeback. Blanc didn't answer.

"Mr Stevens, please continue."

"Right. Well the other reason I thought this gathering would be, uh, beneficial is that as I told Walt, Harlan altered his will one week ago. He sealed it and asked me not to submit it to the courts for probate until after his death. So in case there's any confusion about anything we're all together, we can talk. I can't imagine any of it will be that complicated, Harlan's assets included um -"

"The house." Sally, his assitant, added.

"-the house which he owned outright, um-"

"Sixty million."

"-right in various cash accounts and investments, yes and of course the real assets are sole ownership of um-"

"Blood like Wine." It was actually starting to get kind of comical.

"Blood like Wine publishing, his publishing company. Okay." Then suddenly, something occurred to Jennifer, that would certainly change everything.

What if Harlan had left everything to Marta and herself?

She tried to shake it, but the thought stubbornly stayed on her mind. She glanced over at Jacob, feeling sorry for him: if everything really had been left to herself and Marta, then he would never get the money to buy his own house away from all the Thrombeys. He would never be able to be free of his family, unless she helped him. But could he be convinced to accept her help? There was another way though. Perhaps if he married her, then he could be rid of the Thrombeys forever?

Whoah, whoah, whoah.

Married to Jacob?

It wasn't a bad idea, actually, she reflected. But she hoped that if he did marry her, he would do so for love more than wanting to escape his family.

She certainly loved him with all of her heart, and it would break her if he married her without feeling the same way.