He winced remembering that angry coldness on her face and in her words.
Jack had never heard Em talk like that. Never to him.
Fuck.
Every time he thought he was doing the right thing, it was always wrong. He was always hurting the people he least wanted to hurt. But that morning, weeks ago, when he turned up at the mansion to deal with his mom, he saw Rosalie Devlin truly broken for the first time. She’d endured a lot in her marriage, but discovering the depths of darkness within the family, the hurt inflicted on her kids, hurt Ian had used against them, broke her.
She’d railed on about being a terrible mother, about not protecting them. How the whole town was talking about her. How she’d never be able to leave the house again for the shame of being such a mother. When she’d finally fallen asleep under their careful watch, Jack knew he had to get his mom out of town. Being here was no good for her. It was Rebecca who suggested they get in contact with Rosalie’s brother.
As far as Jack knew, her family cut off contact a few years into the marriage when they realized what an asshole Ian was.
Rosalie had awoken, overhearing his conversation with his sister, and she told him to phone her brother, Heath. Apparently, he and Rosalie had kept in touch all these years. Heath sounded worried about his sister. Said he’d tried calling since seeing the news. He offered them a place to stay in Wilmington. Thankfully, Rosalie didn’t take much convincing. Jamie neither as he was too concerned about his mom, and he said he didn’t care about leaving Hartwell. He’d made a new life at college.
Once they settled at his uncle’s, Jack had looked into their finances. He was trying to figure out how they could continue to pay for Jamie’s tuition. The Devlin businesses that were important to Hartwell’s economy were still running, including Ocean Blue Fun Park and the Hartwell Grand Hotel. While the staff could be paid, any other monies made were to be detained while his father’s assets were frozen. Jack maintained contact with management at both properties, but he assumed that once his father was sentenced, they’d lose those businesses.
Jack had savings, but not enough to send Jamie to school and take care of his mom.
One day his uncle found him stewing in despair over spreadsheets during a brief respite from phone calls, and he’d frowned. “Why can’t you use Rosie’s money?”
The question had confused Jack. “What money?”
His uncle gestured to the large home they were in. Jack had been somewhat taken aback to discover his uncle stayed in a wealthy town north of Wilmington called Greenville. His wife and two college-age daughters, who were spending their summer vacation in Europe, lived in a house that wouldn’t look all that out of place in the movie Home Alone. “Where do you think this came from?”
“I assumed your family’s money.” Jack knew his mother came from a wealthy background. Rosalie didn’t talk about it, so years ago he’d searched for information on his grandparents. Rosalie’s father had inherited the largest fishing company on the East Coast, and he’d sold it for a tidy sum. But Jack’s grandparents had died not long after Rosalie married Ian. When his grandmother passed away after a battle with cancer, his grandfather had a heart attack and died only days later.
Jack wondered if Ian thought by marrying Rosalie, he’d get his hands on her money?
It hadn’t worked out that way.
They’d cut her off.
“Yeah. Family’s money. But I have a sister,” Heath said pointedly.
“I don’t understand.”
“Jack, do you know how much my parents adored us? Adored Rosie?” He sighed and sat down on the desk. “They hated Ian Devlin. Saw him exactly for what he was. They gave Rosie money when they married and found out he convinced her to buy the hotel and fun park in Hartwell. They lost their shit. It was supposed to be for their daughter. So, they cut her off. But they didn’t want to leave Rosie with nothing. It was in their will. They left her fifty percent but entrusted it to me. I’m basically the guardian of Rosalie’s fortune. It was so Ian couldn’t touch it, but she’d have it if she needed it.”
Shock had moved through Jack. “Are you telling me that Mom is rich?”
Heath grinned. “I’m a finance guy. She trusted me to invest it, and those investments have paid off. She has more now than she had to begin with. I can sign over whatever you need now for Rosie to get on her feet. I’d like her to stay in Greenville. She can afford a place here. And as soon as she divorces Ian, all the money will be signed over to her.”
Relief swamped Jack. “Ian doesn’t know about the money?”
“Not at all.”
Jack shook his head. “We can’t make any lavish purchases like houses until he’s behind bars. If he thought for a second Mom had money, he’d blackmail it out of us to pay for his attorney.”
Heath’s expression darkened. “He really is a son of a bitch, isn’t he?”
“You have no idea.” Jack sat back. “What if we just rent a place for her and Becs and Jamie … we do it through you and pay you back afterward? That way Ian will think you’re taking care of the financial burden.”
Heath nodded. “That’s no problem. But everyone is welcome to stay here for as long as needed. This is a big house.”
And Jack had appreciated that.
“I’d look into the hotel and the fun park, Jack. I remember a conversation with Rosie about those purchases. My sister isn’t dumb. Ian needed her signature to hand over that money. She co-owns those businesses. She made sure of it.”
This revelation had Jack on the phone to their family’s financial and business manager. He sent over what they asked for. And sure enough, the deeds to both properties had his mother’s name on them. Rosalie Devlin co-owned the businesses. After several weeks of conversation and investigation he did not enjoy putting his mother through, the feds were satisfied his mom had nothing to do with his father’s racketeering charges. So, they hired a lawyer. They had enough evidence to prove that the businesses rightfully belonged to Rosalie since the money to purchase them was hers. It might take awhile, Ian might already be in prison by then, but they were going to win those businesses back.