Happily Never After (7 page)

Martin looked shocked as the depth of
Marietta’s deception settled over both of us.

“What are the other provisions of the will,
as far as the house is concerned?”

“The same provisions that have been in the
Roberts family for centuries. As long as a Roberts daughter lives
there, the house cannot be sold by anyone other than a Roberts
without her permission.”

None of it made sense. Why would Marietta lie
about the house? She hated it. I was going over every scenario when
it dawned on me.

“You said you had my signature?”

“Yes, give me a second to find it.”

I tried to remember if I had signed anything
but so much about that period of my life was jumbled by my grief.
The beginning of an explanation started building in my mind.

“Here it is.” Martin brought over a thick
file and sorted through it. “Ah, I found it.”

He handed me the document. I recognized my
signature, or at least what I remembered my signature to have
looked like five years ago. Then, the memory flashed vividly in
front of me.

Marietta and her lawyer had sat me down and
told me that everything, including the house, had passed to
Marietta alone. At that age I wasn’t concerned about the house and
it one day being mine. I was trying to adjust to a whole new life.
Her lawyer came over and sat beside me asking me to sign the
document just to confirm that they shared the contents of the will
with me.

I signed without reading it. Back then, I had
yet to have a reason not to trust Marietta.

“It’s my signature, I’m sure of it. Except
when I signed this I was signing it based on what Marietta told me.
She told me the house and all of Daddy’s belongings were now hers.
End of story.”

Understanding showed on Martin’s face as he
began to realize what had happened.

“Martin, if I didn't know the house passed to
me on my birthday and I moved away, severing all ties with
Savannah, what would the result be? I mean, according to the will
and its provisions.”

“Basically, it’s fair game if you no longer
live there, especially if you didn’t answer the summons to a
hearing. If a Roberts daughter does not reside in the home, it
reverts back to the next of kin. Who, in this case, is Marietta.
It’s an old addendum that has been in these wills since before the
War. It’s one that doesn’t make much sense any longer, but no one
has changed it for hundreds of years. It can be fought, of course,
but this is the South, honey. You know as well as I do that our
courts hold many of the old ways in high respect. Your stepmother
could claim abandonment and win the ability to do whatever she
chooses with the house.”

“And if I were dead?”

Martin’s eyes widened but he answered, “Under
those unfortunate circumstances, if you yourself do not have a
will, it would revert to the widow of Andrew Roberts and the
guardian of his daughter.”

I nodded and thought about what I learned. It
was more or less what I’d begun to suspect. If I was gone and
didn’t realize what was going on, Marietta would regain control of
the house. By not telling me, she was hoping I would want to leave
and never look back. It was her final move to sever me from my
family.

I wondered what role the thing that seemed to
be controlling her had to do with it. It had to be connected.

“What do you suggest I do?”

“My legal advice? Don’t give her any
indication you know the truth. Once you turn eighteen, we can file
a motion to have her removed from the house. We’ll do it by the
book to make sure we get the result we want, you in possession of
your family home. My personal advice is to play it safe. She
obviously has an agenda and I’d be as careful as possible until
your birthday.”

“I’ll do anything if it means I can get her
and her daughters out of my house. I’m sure all she wants to do is
sell it and take the money. It’s a prime piece of real estate. So
you’ll do whatever we need to do? File the necessary papers? I
should warn you, I’d have no way to pay for your services.”

He stood up and came around his desk to sit
beside me. “Even if that were true, I would do this for free. Now,
I have one more thing to tell you. I’m assuming since you’ve been
told nothing about your inheritance, you also don’t know of your
mother’s.”

Chapter Eight

My head was already spinning with the
implications of Marietta’s deceit. I wasn’t sure I could handle
anything else.

“Mama?”

“This is something you can be assured
Marietta knows nothing about, at least to my knowledge. Andrew
would have told you this when he felt the time was right but I’m
guessing he passed before he could.” Martin laid his hand on my
arm. “Your mother came from a rich family as well. She entered the
marriage with her own set of impressive assets. Before you were
even born, she set up a large trust in your name and she intended
for you to come into this money on your eighteenth birthday. Your
father shared with me that he and your mother believed this was
when your adult life would truly begin.”

I was astounded. Not only would I be able to
keep my family’s house, but also I wasn’t the poor broke girl I’d
always assumed.

“How much?”

“When the trust was set up, the amount was
five million. After eighteen years of gaining interest, I’d imagine
its well past that point, maybe even doubling or tripling its
value. You’re about to be a very rich woman, Quinn.”

My breathing got faster and the room spun. I
felt Martin patting my back in comfort but it didn’t really
compute. In the course of a few minutes, my entire life had
changed. Even now, I couldn’t bring myself to believe that it would
last. Marietta, with the help of whatever presence held sway over
her, had gone through a lot of trouble to ensure I'd never discover
any of this.

It couldn’t be this easy.

“Does Marietta know about the trust?” I
whispered.

“As far as I can tell, no. I’m so sorry,
Quinn. I see from the expression on your face that life has been
harder than I ever imagined. Believe me, if I’d known it was as bad
as I’m now suspecting, I would’ve done something about it. Your
father was a dear friend to me.”

“It’s okay. You used to be a part of our
family. This is a weird request, but is there any way you can check
to make sure the money’s still there? I don’t trust that Marietta
was clueless so I need to find out.”

“Sure, let me make a few phone calls. Why
don’t you go out and wait with your friend? I’ll come out when I’m
done.”

He walked me out and asked his receptionist
to let his next client know he’d be a little late. Jason walked
over and guided me to a chair.

“How did it go? You look a little shell
shocked.”

“I had good news and disturbing news. I’m not
sure what to make of it all right now. It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’ll
have a better idea in a bit. He’s making some phone calls.”

Jason shifted in his chair to stare hard at
me. “I realize you don’t know me that well, but if you want to
talk, I’m really not a bad guy.”

I found myself wanting to tell him. Trust had
become a fantasy to me. It was something I wished was true, but
somehow it always felt just out of reach. I didn’t particularly
like Jason. He annoyed me more than anyone else I’d ever met, but
his blue eyes were filled with concern. Maybe it was easier
spilling secrets to a stranger you never planned to see again. If
he told anyone about the strange girl who compared herself to
Cinderella and hunted for ghosts, who would believe him? I decided
to take a leap of faith, based upon the fact that soon I’d be rid
of him anyway.

“It kind of has to do with the evil
stepmother. My mama died when I was six and my father remarried
after I turned eleven. Then, when I was almost thirteen, Daddy died
too, leaving me with my stepmother and her two daughters. I wasn’t
joking when I told you I had more in common with Cinderella than
you’d believe.

“To make a long story short, she’s made my
life a living nightmare. Her daughters made my high school life
even worse, horrible stuff. I thought I’d be able to leave once I
turned eighteen but this morning she said if I left she was going
to sell the house that’s been in our family for over two hundred
years.

“I learned today that when I turn eighteen,
apparently the house reverts to me. It’s only hers temporarily but
she never told me that. She led me to believe my father willed the
house to her and only her. If I moved away like I’ve planned, she
has the right to sell it.”

He laid his hand on my arm. “And she kept
that part from you on purpose, knowing you’d want to leave after
how they treated you. I take it you don’t want anything to happen
to the house?”

“No, it’s all I have left of my family. I
wouldn’t expect you to understand but in Savannah, things are
different. That house is alive, in a sense, and it’s withstood
everything from hurricanes to the Yankees. The spirits of my family
still live there. I can’t lose it. Now that I have discovered all
this, I’m going to fight for it. I just have to be patient a little
bit longer.”

And try not to worry about the strange voice
saying I wouldn’t make it to my birthday or the violent
attacks.

“That's good. You don’t seem to be the kind
of girl to back down from a fight. So, I’m guessing this is where
the good news comes in?”

“Maybe. Mr. Bradley also told me my mama had
set up a trust fund that I would have access to once I turned
eighteen. A trust fund my stepmother knew nothing about, at least
we assume that. He’s calling now to make sure it’s still there in
its entirety. I wouldn’t put it past her to have found out and
taken it.”

He studied me for a bit. “You’re one of the
strongest people I’ve ever met. It may sound corny but I felt it
even when we first met. Maybe it was the way you shot me down or
seeing you’re normal after what I witnessed this morning at the
set. You deserve a break.”

Before I could say anything about his
surprising observations, Martin came out of his office smiling and
I stood.

“I talked to an associate at the bank and
your trust fund is intact. We’ve agreed to add another layer of
protection to the account. No one can access it now unless they
have both of our signatures. Better safe than sorry, right?”

I let out a sigh of relief and hugged him.
“Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me. I’ll
come back on my birthday and maybe we can get the papers filed to
get Marietta out of my house.”

“If we had more time, I’d suggest filing to
become an emancipated minor but it would take too long and it would
tip our hand to Marietta. Just remember what I said Quinn, be
careful.”

He had no idea how much I was going to take
that advice to heart.

Chapter Nine

We said goodbye to Martin and walked out of
the office. It felt as if there was a new spring in my step, as
though a load had lifted off my shoulders and every other cheesy
cliché that applied. It was nice to actually have an idea of what
was going on in my life and how I might be able to come out of
it.

“Now where?” Jason asked. “I’d suggest we go
celebrate some place with air conditioning but I’m guessing you’d
turn me down flat. How can you handle this heat? I’m melting.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I would
absolutely turn you down. This doesn’t make us BFFs. Sometimes it’s
easier to share things with a stranger. As far as the heat, you get
used to it.”

It was a brutally hot day. Not a lot of
people were out and the ones who were sat listlessly on benches or
front porches. Things in the South moved at a different pace.

“You’re great for my ego, you know that?” He
bumped me playfully with his shoulder.

“I’m sure you have no problems whatsoever
with your ego.”

I took a second to put a hold on the friendly
feelings. Developing any kind of crush on him meant traveling down
a dangerous road and I needed to avoid any one-sided emotional
attachments. Before he could come back with something he considered
witty or flirty, I continued talking.

“I texted Abby earlier and told her to meet
us at Moon River Brewery, where her mama works. The owner lets us
use it for investigations. It’s supposedly one of the most haunted
buildings in Savannah.”

“Sweet, the most haunted building in the most
haunted city. That should be interesting. So, why ghosts? Is it
because you lost both of your parents so young?”

The last thing I wanted to say was ‘because I
can feel them’ or bring up his dead brother, so I stuck with a
general answer.

“In a sense, yes. You said it yourself, you
can’t be in a place like this and not at least wonder. Especially
when you can almost feel it.” Oops, almost too much.

Jason had a funny way of making me want to
confide in him, which was something I had to be careful about. The
thought of being hurt and my general lack of trust, made me work
hard to keep him at a distance. It was turning out to be harder
than I thought.

“I get it. I’m staying at one of those older
hotels downtown. I hate new places. As crazy as it sounds there are
times when I swear someone is in the room with me. Or I’ll sense
someone walking down the hall behind me. I’ve never experienced it
before.”

“That may be a residual haunting. It's energy
trapped in a place that keeps repeating itself, like a song on
repeat. They’re not aware of you. To them, they’re just going about
their lives, the lives they think they’re still a part of. That’s
what I love so much about old buildings or my house. Even when it’s
just me, I never feel alone.” As hard as I tried, it was impossible
not to get caught up in his enthusiasm.

“I’d love to see your place.”

The idea of showing up at home with Jason
Preston in tow made me equal parts giddy and terrified. They’d
probably assume I put a spell on him. That’s the only way he’d be
with someone like me.