Page 16 of After Midnight

With Margarette apparently stunned into silence by my challenge, I walked slowly toward the door. I was ready for a fight but she didn’t take the bait. I left the house and headed toward my clunker of a car.

I pulled into the university library’s parking lot when my phone rang with a call from the attorney I’d emailed the night before.

“Dominic, how are you, son?” he asked. “It’s been a while.”

“I’m good, sir,” I answered. “Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.”

“I’ve been meaning to contact you, so your timing is fortuitous. I’m working in the office this morning and have some time for a meeting, if you’re available.”

“Sure. I just arrived at school but I’ve got a couple hours before my class starts. I could come by now.”

“Perfect, I’ll see you in a few.”

When I arrived at his office, which was an old warehouse converted to numerous loft-style offices, I was immediately escorted back to meet him.

Mr. Langdon was a well-built, older man with tan skin and slightly graying hair. He’d always been personable and friendly.

“Dominic, thanks for coming in on such short notice. I’ve got several things for you to sign, but you already know that.”

That brought me up short and I looked at him strangely. “Why would I know that?”

“Oh, I saw your stepmother last night at the restaurant and asked her to send you by. You need to sign some documents now that the guardianship over your trust has ended. I assumed that’s why you emailed my office for an appointment. I just can’t believe you’re twenty-one. Time flies.”

Suddenly, last night’s tirade made sense. Margarette felt threatened knowing I’d soon take control of my trust, her iron grip on me slipping in the process.

I took a seat across from the attorney and decided to get down to business.

“Mr. Langdon, I have questions about the trust. I need to make sure I understand it all before I sign anything. Do you mind if I just dive in?”

He smiled at me warmly. “I’m sure you do. By all means, ask away.”

“Since I turned twenty-one, the trust is in my name only, correct?”

“That’s correct,” he said.

“Does Margarette have any control over it now? Or can she lay claim to the money in any way?”

Mr. Langdon looked at me oddly but shook his head. “No, of course not. The trust legally transferred to you, in its entirety, on your twenty-first birthday. That’s how your fathers set it up from the start.”

“What about my younger sisters? Do they have any interest in the trust?” I asked.

He shook his head again. “No, it was never contingent upon the girls. I think your fathers considered the money your sisters inherited from their parents would cover the cost of their care growing up, as well as any postsecondary education.”

I sighed in relief but still felt on edge. “Margarette told me last night she could fight me on it, that the trust money was rightfully hers. Is there any truth to that?”

Mr. Langdon looked a little sheepish. “No, but it does make sense why she was asking me all those questions yesterday.” He blew out a breath, looking thoughtful. “Your stepmother has no legal basis whatsoever to take anything from you. In fact, the house, the cars, and nearly everything of value in the home was purchased through your trust and placed in the trust’s name, and we have the documentation to prove it. Now you’re twenty-one, you own all of it. Margarette has no claims over anything. It’s all yours, son.”

I sat there just staring at him, almost not believing my own ears. Allmine? Surely there was a loophole somewhere? “Just so I’m fully understanding this, you mean Margarette doesn’t get alimony or anything like that?”

That caused the older man to laugh. “Not unless you married her.” He laughed again when my face twisted in disgust. “No, son, she has no legal claim to even a penny of your trust money. Technically, she never did except, as your guardian, she could decide how to spend the monthly stipend so long as she documented it had been used directly for your wellbeing. Like buying the house.”

“Or like buying her cruises?” I asked sarcastically.

“Since you went with her, yes.”

“No, I never went with her. She either goes alone or takes so-called friends.”

The man’s face registered alarm. “You didn’t take those trips with her? She bought tickets for you and the girls every time. We’ve got the receipts.”

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