Reading the Will

"Everyone, please hear me out first." Henry, who had caused a subtle shift in the atmosphere since entering the restaurant, spoke first, "I am here tonight because Attorney Adler specifically invited me."

"I do not know where I will appear in Ms. Hepburn's will. But I would like to declare here that I relinquish all rights of inheritance or gift. The gifts left to me by Ms. Hepburn will be distributed among her legal heirs in accordance with the law."

Compared to the others, Givenchy, who had once run around with his assistant to help with Hepburn's affairs, was probably the person Henry knew best present. He asked in surprise, "Henry, are you sure?"

Henry laughed and said, "Yes, sir. I imagine it would be quite a big deal to have me attend such an event. But inheriting an estate involves estate tax, and I'm not sure I have the savings to pay that amount, so I might as well give it up."

"Besides, I've already received the compensation I deserved from the lady during my time as her assistant, and that's enough. What's most precious to me is the memory of that time. I don't ask for anything more."

After saying that, Henry turned to the lawyer and asked, "Attorney Adler, after I declare this waiver, will I still be asked to share the estate tax?"

Attorney Ani Adler shook his head and said, "What If...? you declare that you are renouncing your inheritance, then the estate tax will not apply to you. However, according to the law, I still have to read the original will, not the changes made after your renunciation. Do you understand?"

Henry nodded. At the same time Givenchy gestured to the seat next to him, indicating that the assistant should sit down, instead of standing as before.

Perhaps it was a junior assistant who had only worked for a few years who declared that she would not interfere in Ms. Hepburn's estate, which made everyone's expressions slightly better. After everyone had no objections, lawyer Arnie Adler began to read Audrey Hepburn's will.

Beginning with "To my dear family and friends," the woman directly and clearly began her will regarding the distribution of her assets.

As expected, most of her assets will be divided equally between her two children. Real estate and other immovable properties are not easily divided.

Therefore, they roughly divided the property into two parts based on its value, with each brother receiving one part.

The remaining movable assets, such as stocks, cash, and savings, were divided equally; however, the portrait rights and copyrights under the name "Audrey Hepburn" were equally owned by both brothers. Any action required the consent of both.

And items related to Hubert de Givenchy, such as clothing, perfumes, and luxury goods designed or inspired by Audrey Hepburn, were all given back to Givenchy, thus unifying the previously 50/50 control.

This is to prevent Givenchy, the creator, from encountering potential problems due to incomplete ownership when dealing with related rights in the future, thus eliminating such issues before they occur.

If the woman's two children wanted to do something in the name of "Audrey Hepburn" and that was related to Givenchy, this action ensured that the power was in the hands of the fashion mogul.

The two ex-husbands also had a share, but most of it was from the time of their marriage, things that were jointly owned by both parties, and the woman was simply returning them at this point.

This place is full of valuable works of art; items like pillows and blankets wouldn't be displayed here.

Finally, it was the lady's assistant's turn. Attorney Adler said, "Henry, Ms. Hepburn is here because of Catherine..."

She met Mr. Hepburn through her relationship with Mr. Tony Stark.

"So the lady's original intention was to give you all the Stark Industries stock in her investment portfolio. This amount is estimated to be around five hundred thousand."

"But What If...? you relinquish this right, then these shares will go to the lady's two legal heirs, namely Sean..."

Faril and Luca Dotti split the rights equally. I'm confirming again here, are you also going to declare that you're relinquishing your rights?

Henry nodded without hesitation, "Yes, I give up." But then he asked curiously, "Stark Industries has stock that can be bought and sold? I remember they weren't a publicly traded company."

Adler explained, "It is said that after Mr. Howard Stark's unexpected death, Tony Stark adjusted his business strategy and took his companies public on a large scale in order to raise funds for estate tax."

"On the advice of her financial advisor, Ms. Hepburn gradually purchased some Stark Industries stock last year. Most of these were related companies; the main Stark Industries stock was difficult to buy, and its price kept rising."

"I see." It seems I've taken another small step towards the world I'm familiar with. Henry thought to himself.

Attorney Arnie Adler continued, "However, as Ms. Hepburn guessed, you probably wouldn't accept this gift."

But there are still two things I hope you will accept.

"What is it?" Henry asked curiously. In fact, everyone else was just as curious.

Attorney Adler placed two brown paper bags on the table, pushed one out first, and said, "You've been writing quite a few manuscripts lately, haven't you? Ms. Hepburn asked me to contact publishers in Britain and the United States who are interested in publishing them."

"This is the best publishing house available, located in the United States, and they've already started the publishing process. What If...? you plan to return to the United States, you can handle the rest yourself, so I won't have to make the cross-oceanic connections for you in Switzerland."

"What If...? you still need my services, we can discuss the fee separately. Also, although this is something Ms. Hepburn left you, the copyright belongs to you. The only help she could offer was a letter of recommendation."

Therefore, this cannot be considered a valuable inheritance and will be inherited by the legal heirs. There are also no inheritance taxes or other accounting matters to be handled, so you can rest assured and accept it.

Robert suddenly realized and said, "Oh, it's those love stories you told. Henry, they're quite good. I was going to encourage you to publish them, but Audrey has already done it for you."

"This—" This is truly an unexpected path. Henry smiled wryly. Robert also told the others about what he had heard during this time, letting everyone know what this gift from Audrey Hepburn really was.

Finally Henry said bluntly, "Alright, I can't escape this one. What's the other one? It's not something I can't refuse either, is it?"

Attorney Adler pushed forward the second brown paper bag, saying, "This is an autographed photograph of Ms. Hepburn."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Henry eagerly picked up the second brown paper bag, tore it open, and took out the photos inside.

It was a black-and-white still from the movie "Roman Holiday," and a close-up portrait at that. It permanently preserved Audrey Hepburn in her early twenties, in the prime of her youth.

On the back of the photo is the woman's signature in cursive script and a message.

It was a handwritten message in English, revealing a woman's gentle and virtuous character. "The moonlight is beautiful tonight."