Page 104 of Panty Dropper

“No.” She shook her head as she shuffled to another paper. “Right here it specifies that in the event of her death, the trust was to be divided equally between her children listed here.” She turned the paper around and I saw our full names listed. I was glad I’d already told her what my middle name was, otherwise she would’ve learned it right then. “You and your siblings should’ve inherited fifty million dollars.”

“Fifty million dollars…” The amount sounded foreign even to my own ears.

She nodded, shifting the paperwork back toward her and reading through them again. “And you were all entitled to collect at eighteen. The only way that the funds would not be released and remain in the trust was if there were outstanding circumstances surrounding your mother’s death.”

“Outstanding circumstances?” I repeated.

“Foul play,” she explained.

I wasn’t sure if I was in shock or what, but I still had no idea what she was talking about. “What does that mean?”

“It means if your mother died of anything other than natural causes.”

“What do you mean, because she was in a car accident?”

“No. I mean…if she was murdered, or committed suicide.”

“It was an accident. She took a corner too fast. It was a rainy night and that turn at the bluff sneaks up on you.”

Reagan nodded, but I could see in her eyes that she wasn’t as convinced as I was.

“You think someone did something to her, or that she would do that?” My tone was much more accusatory than I’d meant it to be.

“No. I didn’t even know her. I was just…the things she was writing about she sounded…”

“What?” I barked, not sure why I was taking this out on her.

“Scared. Desperate.”

“Desperate enough to drive off a cliff?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.” She started folding the papers back up.

I covered her hand with mine. “No. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. It’s just, it’s hard to think of someone you love leaving you like that.”

A heavy silence hung between us before she spoke so softly, I had to lean in to hear her.

“Do you remember when I told you about the day I confronted my dad? Well, what I didn’t tell you was that the reason I was going over to my babysitter’s house was because I’d found my mom, on the couch unconscious with an empty bottle of pills on the floor.” She turned her head and looked out the window and I watched a single tear drop down her cheek. “I called 911, and when the ambulance got there, I was so scared that I just ran out. That’s why I spoke to him that day. I did it because I thought my mom was dead.”

Her eyes fluttered as she inhaled a shaky breath. “But he didn’t want me. He never wanted me. It was the worst day of my life. Losing Hal was a close second, but that was the worst.” She wiped her cheeks, which now had several tears falling down them, and stood. “I’m so sorry. This isn’t about me.”

Acting on instinct, I stood and wrapped my arms around her. Without any hesitation, she melted into me and I tightened my hold. I never wanted to let her go. I’d hold her forever if she’d let me.

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