When a man who built a fashion empire dies, the inheritance is rarely divided quietly. Eighteen months after the death of Isak Andic, founder of the Spanish brand Mango, his family still hasn't returned to normal - because the case of his death is still before the court.

This week Andic's daughters, Judith and Sara, testified before the judge at the court in Martorell. In a statement afterwards, they stressed that the family had cooperated with justice from the very start and that they believe the truth will come out. But that same statement contains a sentence that says a lot: after eighteen months, they say, they still haven't had the "space of calm" they needed to process the grief over their father's painful death. In other words - the investigation won't even let them mourn.

At the centre of the inquiry is the question of whether the medical and financial decisions in the final months of Andic's life complied with the law, including a strategy of a so-called "inheritance in life" for the Mango empire. Under investigation is the son, Jonathan Andic, who has stepped back from his work at the company to focus on his defence. His sisters have publicly expressed their "absolute conviction" in his innocence.

The story has a shape anyone who has watched fortunes divided will recognise. There is a big brand, there is a sudden death, there is an inheritance too valuable to be left unquestioned, and there is a family torn between mourning and the courtroom. Whether justice wants truth or just time - that remains to be seen. But one thing is already clear: when the stakes are an entire empire, not even a father's death brings peace.