Harder and harder and harder and harder and . . .
“MRS. VANDERWAL, THANK you for coming in. I’m so sorry for your loss. Your husband was a good friend.”
“Thank you, Rick,” I respond as I stand in front of our attorney’s desk and shake his hand.
“Please,” he says, gesturing to the chair, “Have a seat.”
I look at the man I’ve known since my engagement to Bennett four years ago as he sits down and pulls out a file of paperwork.
“I wanted to visit with you personally so that we can go over the terms of your husband’s will and estate. I know this is a difficult time for you right now, but the day of Bennett’s death, he stopped by to visit me.”
I nod my head, recalling the phone call that was made in my hospital room. It was the last time Bennett was with me, when he found out that I wasn’t really Nina, but Elizabeth, and that I’d been sneaking around with Declan.
Declan.
My throat tightens at the thought of him, but I push it down to focus on Rick as he continues to speak.
“A few amendments were made to the will,” he tells me, pulling out a sealed, white envelope from the file. “He instructed me to open and read this to you privately upon his death.”
Forcing out a tear, I sit and stare—nervous—but I play it as calm as I can.
“He must have known,” he states blankly.
“I don’t understand how any of this is happening.” My voice quivers around the words, and Rick hands me a tissue.
“Have the police said anything to you?”
“No. But they took almost everything from our home office. The last I heard is they think it’s business related.”
“Money will make people do sick things,” he says, and the chill that streams under my skin causes a sinister reaction inside of me.
He has no clue how close to home his words are hitting right now as I sit and wait to hear my reward for this game of revenge I’ve played over the past few years.
I dab my eyes with the tissue, and he asks, “Do you need a moment?”
I shake my head, and he takes his letter opener, slicing it through the lip of the envelope. Unfolding the paper, he takes a moment, and I watch as his eyes skitter across whatever is written. Rick clears his throat and shifts in his seat before reading aloud Bennett’s words.
My beautiful Nina,
I’m so conflicted writing this letter. The moment I met you, I knew the man I wanted to be. The type of man worthy enough to stand by your side because you are beyond magnificent.
But the conflict there is that you were never the woman I thought you were. I’m pissed at you. I know the woman that lies beneath the fallacy. The fallacy I fell deeply in love with. I don’t pretend to have the answers for what you’ve done, but don’t worry, my dear. Don’t be scared, because I never told a soul. I’ll take my friend, that little girl with the red pigtails, to my grave. Whatever it is that you wanted from me, I hope you found it. I hope that you can forgive me for what happened to you. I don’t know the details; all I do know is that I feel responsible.
You weren’t the only one who was dishonest though. I lied to you too. There is no easy way to say this, so here it is:
I have a son.
His name is Alexander Brooks.
The utter shock at those words knocks me back, and I’m disgusted at myself for not being able to see what was right under my nose. He was fucking Jacqueline behind my back. My loving husband and my so-called friend.
She was the biggest mistake of my life. It only happened once. The details aren’t important, because I’ve regretted that moment since before it happened. Because it was you I wanted. It’s always been you. I laid my hand on her that one time but never again after. Never did I want to because all I wanted was to be covered in you. To be covered in your love that I felt was so real, but I learned today that it wasn’t real. Nothing is real, and I don’t know what to believe.
What I do know is that I cannot trust anything. I have instructed that this letter only be read in a private setting between legal counsel and you, Nina. It is with this letter that I claim my paternity to Alexander Brooks. A DNA test was conducted shortly after his birth and can be found in a safety deposit box, which I leave to the hereby mentioned custodian, Attorney Rick Parker of Buchanan & Parker. I further move to amend my will to ensure Alexander Brooks is the sole heir to all business assets of Linq Steel Co. and that Nina Vanderwal be sole heir to all personal assets upon my death.
All monies gained from Linq Steel Co., including all materials of the business estate, will be deposited into a trust fund under Alexander’s name, which the trustee, Rick Parker, will oversee until Alexander reaches the age of 21.