Death Spins a Web (A Story from The Sealed Book)
Death Spins a Web is the story of an old woman who is bed-bound and has only a couple of months to live. Mrs Drake is a rich lady who has only three heirs: Blanche, Vivien and Chris. All three of them are greedy for her millions, but Mrs Drake considers them to be possibly the three most useless people in the world and she dislikes them all.
Mrs Drake tells her heirs that she would happily cut all three of them off without a cent and leave all her money to charity, but her husband left a will that prevents her from doing so. All three of her heirs are aware of the terms of their grandfather’s will and are pretty smug about it, but Mrs Drake has an ace up her sleeve. Her husband’s will allows her the authority to choose how she splits up the money and she has no intention of sharing it out equally. She feels that one of the three must be a little less useless to society than the other two are and that one will get most of the money. The other two will receive token amounts only and Mrs Drake tells her heirs that they must live in her home for three weeks while she decides who will receive the lion’s share.
Chris is a devious man though, and he begins wooing both of his cousins with the intention of marrying the one who inherits the money, and if he should be the one who inherits it, they will both be history.
After a week has passed Blanche and Vivien are no longer on speaking terms with each other and Chris is finding it harder and harder to play his game. Then, after a few more days have passed, Mrs Drake has a particularly bad heart attack and calls all three of them into her room. She informs them that she has made her decision, but refuses to tell them who she has chosen. They must wait until she is dead and allow her will to reveal all.
Not long after this shocking piece of news has been delivered Chris seeks out Blanche and tells her that he has discovered that Vivien will inherit the millions while he and Blanche will receive a mere $5,000 each. He also states that he and Blanche will not be able to wed because they will never be able to afford it. There is, however, one way out. They can kill Vivien, and Chris has a plan. If Blanche takes Vivien out in the canoe and then capsizes it in the middle of the lake, he will pick her up in the motor boat and leave Vivien to a watery grave. Blanche agrees to the plan and it all goes swimmingly except for one thing: Chris leaves both of them to drown.
Chris made a fool of both his cousins and he even manages to fool the police, but his grandmother is another matter entirely and he soon discovers that he has played right into the old girl’s hands.
The Sealed Book: Death Spins a Web
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