Page 127 of Destiny

“Wait, wait, wait…” My heart nearly stops. “I don’t need her money. I don’twanther money.”

“That’s certainly your prerogative, but you’re entitled to it. Can you come into my office tomorrow?”

“Yeah, yeah. I want to bring my dad with me. And my boyfriend.”

“You can bring whomever you need to bring,” he says. “Can you be here by ten o’clock?”

“Can we make it one in the afternoon? It’s a four-hour drive.”

“Yes, of course. One o’clock it is. See you tomorrow, Ms. Steel.”

“Yeah. Tomorrow.” I end the call.

And I stare again at the card in front of me.

Death.

The end.

But the end of one thing always signifies the beginning of another.

I didn’t get all the answers I wanted, but apparently I got a bunch of money. That plus my trust fund? God only knows how much I’m worth.

I don’t want Wendy Madigan’s dirty money, but I know exactly what I’ll do with it.

Chapter Forty-One

Brendan

I sit with Ava and Ryan in a conference room at the Denver law firm of Wolfram and Burke.

“So, Ms. Steel,” Duke Wolfram says, “we have some papers you need to sign. Then we’ll get this will probated, and you can get your money.”

“I told you I don’t want it.”

“Well, it’s yours. You’ll need to decide what you want to do with it, then.”

“I’ve already decided,” Ava says. “How much will it cost to pay off all the liens that the Steel Trust holds on all the property in Snow Creek?”

“That’s a sizable chunk, Ms. Steel.”

“I don’t care. Tell me how much.”

“Close to fifty million dollars, but—”

“Good enough. I want to use the money that I inherited from my grandmother, Wendy Madigan, to pay off those liens.”

“But you don’t have to do that. Wendy Madigan was the sole principal of the Fleming Corporation, so upon her death, all ownership in that entity passed to you, Ms. Steel.”

“I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”

“The Fleming Corporation holds the liens on the properties in Snow Creek,” Wolfram continues. “As Ms. Madigan’s sole heir, you, for all intents and purposes,arethe Fleming Corporation, so you can release the liens.”

Ryan shakes his head. “I’ll be damned…”

“Do you think Wendy thought about this?” I ask.

“Hell if I know,” Ryan says. “She was brilliant, but she was old.” He runs his hand over his face. “My God, she was willing to bankrupt our town for my daughter. This is crazy even for her.”

---