Chapter 6
4.2 million dollars.
I stared at the phone.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
Cara's father.
The man who'd murdered his wife.
The man who'd caused so much pain.
Had left everything to my daughter.
"I need to see the will," I said.
"I'll send it over," the lawyer said. "But there's something else. Mr. Bennett had some… personal items. Letters. Journals. Things that might be of interest to you and your daughter."
That afternoon, the lawyer sent everything.
The will was real.
Lily was indeed the sole heir.
And there were boxes of personal items.
Letters.
Journals.
Photographs.
I went through them that night, after Lily was asleep.
Cara's father's name was Robert Bennett.
His journals revealed a man consumed by greed and anger.
He'd married Cara's mother for her money.
When she'd found out about his affair and threatened to divorce him, he'd poisoned her.
Made it look like Huntington's.
He'd gotten away with it for fifteen years.
And then he'd died of a heart attack.
Never punished for his crime.
But there was something else.
Something that made my blood run cold.
Robert had known about Cara.
He'd known she was alive.
He'd been looking for her.
For years.
He'd hired private investigators.
He'd tracked her across the country.
And he'd found her.
Two years before he died.
The journal entries from that time were chilling.
*I found her. The little bitch is alive. And she has a daughter. My granddaughter. They're living with that sister of hers. I'll get what's mine. She can't hide forever.*
*I know about the boy. The architect. She still loves him. I could use that against her. I could hurt him. Make her come to me.*
*My heart is getting worse. I don't have much time. I need to make sure she gets nothing. Or… maybe I should leave her everything. But with strings attached. Strings that will destroy her.*
I flipped to the last entry.
Dated the day before he died.
*I've changed my will. Everything goes to the girl. Lily. But with conditions. If Cara tries to claim any of it before she dies, she gets nothing. And if Ethan doesn't marry Cara and accept the child as his own… the money goes to charity. They'll have to do exactly what I want. Or they get nothing. Even from the grave, I win.*
I dropped the journal.
My hands were shaking.
Robert Bennett had been planning this from beyond the grave.
He'd known Cara was dying.
He'd known she'd come back to me.
He'd set up his will to force her hand.
To force her to come back.
To force us to marry.
It wasn't just Cara's choice.
It was her father's final manipulation.
I looked at the letter from the lawyer again.
The conditions.
They were all there.
Hidden in the fine print.
I had to legally accept Lily as my daughter.
I had to marry Cara before she died.
And Cara couldn't be alive when the money was transferred.
Robert Bennett had played us all.
Even from the grave.
I didn't know what to do.
Should I tell Lily?
Should I tell Maya?
Should I refuse the money?
But 4.2 million dollars.
It would set Lily up for life.
College.
A house.
Security.
Everything she'd ever need.
Cara would have wanted that for her.
But it was blood money.
Money from a murderer.
Money obtained through manipulation and control.
I sat in the dark for a long time.
Thinking.
And then I heard a small voice.
"Daddy?"
Lily was standing in the doorway.
Rubbing her eyes.
"Can I sleep with you?" she asked.
I opened my arms.
She climbed into my lap.
She rested her head on my chest.
"I had a bad dream," she said. "About Grandpa Robert. He was scary."
I froze.
"Grandpa Robert?"
"Mommy told me about him," she said. "She said he was a bad man. But he's gone now. He can't hurt us."
She looked up at me.
"Right, Daddy?"
I held her tighter.
"That's right, baby," I said. "He can't hurt us anymore."
She closed her eyes.
And she fell asleep in my arms.
I looked at the journals on the table.
At the will.
At the money.
And I made my decision.
I would take the money.
I would use it to give Lily the best life possible.
I would use it to honor Cara's memory.
I would turn Robert Bennett's evil into something good.
But I would never let Lily forget the truth.
About her grandfather.
About her mother.
About the sacrifices that had been made for her.
And I would make sure Robert Bennett's name was forgotten.
While Cara's name was remembered.
Loved.
Honored.
I kissed Lily's forehead.
And I picked up the phone.
I called the lawyer.
"I accept," I said.
But as I hung up, I noticed something.
One of Robert's journals was different from the others.
Thicker.
Older.
I opened it.
And the first page made my blood run cold.
It wasn't Robert's journal at all.
May you like
It was Cara's mother's.
And the last entry was dated the day she died.
