7. Legacies of Real Property.
a. I give and bequeath my property in CAMERON HIGHLANDS, Malaysia, and all the contents within this eighty-acre estate to my dear grandson Alexander LEONG. If he does not survive me, I give the property to his wife Salimah LEONG and my great-grandchildren James, Anwar, and Yasmine LEONG, who I most unfortunately have never been able to meet, in equal shares.
(Harry Leong was stunned. This was such a slap to his face! Felicity didn’t dare look at her husband, but Astrid couldn’t help but smile: I can’t wait to Skype Alex. I want to see the look on his face when he finds out that Ah Ma left the incredible heritage estate in Malaysia to HIM—the son who’s been disowned by his father for marrying a native Malay girl.)
b. I give and bequeath my property in CHIANG MAI, Thailand, and all the contents within this three-hundred-acre estate to my beloved daughter Catherine YOUNG AAKARA. If she does not survive me, I give the property to her children James, Matthew, and Adam AAKARA in equal shares.
(Catherine started to sob, while Felicity, Victoria, and Alix all bolted up in their seats, staring at her in shock. What estate in Chiang Mai?)
Freddie Tan paused for a moment, and without a hint of fanfare, read the final clause of the will.
c. I give and bequeath my house in SINGAPORE to the following family members in the portions indicated below:
My only son, PHILIP YOUNG: 30 percent
My eldest daughter, FELICITY YOUNG: 12.5 percent
My second daughter, CATHERINE YOUNG AAKARA: 12.5 percent
My third daughter, VICTORIA YOUNG: 12.5 percent
My youngest daughter, ALEXANDRA YOUNG CHENG: 12.5 percent
My grandson, NICHOLAS YOUNG: 10 percent
My grandson, ALISTAIR CHENG: 10 percent
SIGNED by SHANG SU YI
—
Freddie put the document down and looked up at everyone. Felicity, Victoria, and Alix were still trying to digest the surprising news that their mother had owned a secret estate in Thailand.
“Go on!” Eddie said impatiently.
“I’m finished,” Freddie answered.
“What do you mean you’re finished? What about Tyersall Park?”
“I just read you that clause.”
“What do you mean? You didn’t mention Tyersall Park at all!” Eddie insisted.
Freddie sighed and began to recite the final clause again. When he was finally done, the room was completely silent for a moment, and then things erupted as everyone started talking at once.
“We all have a share in Tyersall Park?” Felicity asked, utterly confused.
“Yes, you specifically have a 12.5 percent share in the property,” Freddie explained.
“Twelve point five percent…what does this even mean?” Victoria grumbled.
Eleanor smiled triumphantly at Nick, and then she whispered in Philip’s ear, “Your mother can insult me all she wants, but at the end of the day you and Nicky got the majority share and that’s what counts!”
Nick glanced across the table at his cousin Alistair, who shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe Ah Ma actually left me something in her will.”
“More than a little something,” Nick said with a grin.
Witnessing Nick’s exchange with his brother, Eddie grew more livid by the moment. Suddenly he jumped out of his chair, shouting, “THIS IS TOTAL BULLSHIT! Where’s my share in Tyersall Park? Let me see that will! Are you sure this is even the latest version?”
Freddie looked at him calmly. “I can assure you this is your grandmother’s Last Will and Testament. I was present when she signed it.”
Eddie snatched the document from his hands and flipped through to the last page. There, on the bottom of the page, was the notarized seal, accompanied by the following words:
Signed in the presence of FIONA TUNG CHENG and ALFRED SHANG
on this the Ninth day of June 2009
Eddie’s eyes almost bulged out of his head. “Fucky fuck, my wife was a witness?”
“Indeed she was,” Freddie replied.
“That bitch never told me! And the will was signed in 2009? How is this possible?” Eddie said, almost shrieking.
“Stop asking stupid questions, you goblok!*4 She took a pen and signed it!” Alfred scolded him, getting fed up.
Eddie ignored his great-uncle. “But this means she never changed her will? Not even when Nicky married Rachel?”
Nick realized his cousin was right. After all the endless speculation about being disinherited, it turned out his grandmother never once waivered from her original plan. She left a majority stake of Tyersall Park to his father, knowing one day it would be passed down to him. Suddenly he felt an enormous wave of guilt wash over him. Why did he waste so many years being mad at Ah Ma?
But Eddie wasn’t done with his tirade. He stormed over to Freddie Tan’s chair and looked him in the eye accusingly. “The other day when you came to see my grandma, you told me I was going to be the main beneficiary!”
Freddie looked startled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I said no such thing.”
“You told me I was the ‘man of the hour’!”
Freddie almost began to laugh, but seeing the look on Eddie’s face, he tried to soften the blow. “Eddie, I was making a pun about the Patek Philippe you were wearing. You had on the 150th-anniversary Jump Hour Reference 3969 watch. One of my favorite models.”
Eddie glared at him incredulously before crumbling into his chair in embarrassment. Alix gave her son a pitiful look, and then turned to the lawyer. “Freddie, I’m not clear about how my mother’s financial holdings are going to be divvied up. What about her other stocks and her share of Shang Enterprises?”
Freddie looked very uncomfortable and swiveled his chair in Alfred’s direction.
“Your mother had no other stocks, aside from Ling Holdings,” Alfred said.
“But Mummy had a huge stock portfolio—she told me she had every blue-chip counter! Wasn’t she the biggest private shareholder in Keppel Land, Robinson’s, Singapore Press Holdings?” Felicity argued.
Alfred shook his head. “No, I am.”
“But doesn’t she share all that with you? As co-owner of Shang Enterprises?”
Alfred leaned back in his chair and looked at Felicity. “You need to understand something…Shang Enterprises—the shipping company, the trading firm, all our various business interests around the world—are controlled by the Shang Loong Ma Trust. Your mother was a beneficiary of the Trust, but never a co-owner.”
“So who owns Shang Enterprises?” Alix asked.
“Once again, the Trust owns Shang Enterprises, and I am the chief custodian of the Trust. Your grandfather’s will stipulated that the Trust would be passed down through the male line. Only the Shang men could inherit. He was extremely old-fashioned, as you know.”
“So how did my mummy get all her income?” Alix asked.