Page 99 of A Secret to Die For

“So you also know it existed? Did you take it?”

Not that I expected him to admit it if he did. Parker had always held his cards close to his chest. At best, he was confusing, at worst, a duplicitous snake.

“That was EJ.”

“What? I mean, how do you know?”

And, more importantly, how did I know whether Parker was telling the truth? Never trust a Baldwin.

“Because I saw him put it through the shredder. It took me hours to piece it back together.”

Alert, alert, alert. Information overload. Parker’s quick-fire revelations left my brain so befuddled that all I wanted to do was sit in the corner and rock.

“So you…you have the remains of the codicil?”

“If anyone else ever asks me, I’ll deny it.”

“Then you are screwing me over, just like the others. Thanks. Thanks a lot.”

“No, I’m not. Over the past six years, Saralisa Baldwin-Forlani has made some very shrewd investments. Going forward, she’ll continue to collect interest on the $280,000 sitting in her brokerage account until it’s time to play show-and-tell with the executive trustee.”

Had I somehow fallen into the Upside Down and just not noticed? Was I in Wonderland? Had the roller coaster dumped me into an alternate universe where nothing made sense?

“I don’t have a brokerage account.”

I didn’t even know what a brokerage account was.

“Yes, you do.”

“Wait, you set up a brokerage account in my name?”

“Yes.”

“And you made $280,000?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Why would you do that?”

“Because you’re not like the others. Because EJ tried to cheat you. Because Grandpa always intended for you to inherit a portion of his estate. Take your pick.”

“I don’t buy it. You say you wanted Easton to lose out, so why wouldn’t you let the codicil stand? It would have increased his target.”

Nothing made sense today. Not my cousin’s words, not the nightmare I was living through, not that stupid little bud of hope that kept trying to blossom in the darkness.

“I couldn’t let the codicil stand,” Parker said.

“But why not? It doesn’t affect you. You’re not even mentioned.”

“How closely did you read it?”

“I…I’ve never actually read it. I just heard about it.”

“From who?”

Without thinking, I glanced toward the store, and Parker nodded.

“Ah, from Darla?”

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