The Secret Inheritance by Rachel Lynch

Author:Rachel Lynch [Lynch, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Storm Publishing
Published: 2024-10-25T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-TWO

Hettie

Hettie arrived at the library and knocked on the door lightly. She went straight in, not expecting to be intruding on anything, but as she opened the door, she saw her sister with Ian, sat closely together, poring over documents and smiling conspiratorially.

‘Oh, excuse me, I wasn’t aware you’d beaten me to it, Rosie.’

Rosie stood up and stretched. She’d obviously been leaning over the bunch of papers for some time. She excused herself, by way of a facial expression, and went to leave.

Ian looked panicked and made excuses for her to stay.

‘Perhaps I could go over this with both of you?’ he said.

‘She’s had her time, I’ll have mine,’ Hettie said.

Hettie held the door open for her sister, but before Rosie left the room, something passed between her and the lawyer and Hettie felt irritation stir in her stomach as she recognised a hot, fiery ball of jealousy rise inside of her. Rosie walked past her and smiled sweetly, as if she was the most pleasant and innocent of the gathered guests and it took Hettie all her strength not to expose her right there and then. After Rosie had closed the door, Hettie turned to Ian and glared.

‘I expected you to have everything in order,’ she said, controlling her voice.

‘Well… your father was very thorough.’ He backed away from her and sat behind the desk.

‘Indeed, which is why I find it difficult to believe that he deviated from his strongly held values just before he died. It’s… convenient. What exactly do you stand to gain from pulling this week-long stunt? How much are you being paid?’

Ian grinned at her, but it didn’t last long.

‘Hettie, this isn’t a conspiracy. It’s quite straightforward. Your father and I had long, recorded conversations before he passed, when he was aware he was terminally ill. He was keen to put his entire estate in order in this way, despite what he might have said before, verbally, to you or any of your siblings.’

She eyed him suspiciously.

‘He made other agreements – not just with me?’ she asked. Her heart fell to the floor like stone.

‘Yes. He made all sorts of promises – to Michael, Clara, as well as to your brother and sister, and he scrapped every one of them.’

‘I want my own lawyers to look over the paperwork.’

‘Of course, but I do offer some word of caution. Your father’s last wishes were drawn up with three solicitors. I wasn’t there for the final draft for obvious reasons, and the verbal promises he gave prior to that are not binding.’

‘But you promised me!’ Hettie struggled to control the volume of her voice and Ian glanced towards the door.

‘Be careful, Hettie,’ he warned her. ‘The conditions of the will dictate that you must display a solid relationship with your husband.’

‘You bastard, you tricked me!’

Ian held out his hands in front of him. ‘No, it wasn’t like that, I swear to you. It was genuine and I tried to do everything I said I would. Is the money the only reason you wanted to sleep with me?’ he asked her.

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