Dare To Love Again

“The name change happened a little after her eighteenth birthday, but no one on either side knew about it. Meaning, the people in Switzerland had no idea that she’d changed her name and no one stateside knew her by any other name. I’m not sure how they didn’t put two and two together since the name she chose was Winthrop’s maternal grandfather’s name, but there you have it.”

“Now, as for Ann Winthrop, I’m still waiting to get my hands on the coroner’s report, but from what the others that Gordon put me in touch with had to say, it’s looking like maybe she did him. Now for the reason, I was about to call you.”

“There’s more?” He had more than I expected at this point, even though most of it was stuff I’d already deciphered on my own.

“Winthrop left a substantial amount of money and property behind, get this, it was all put in trust for your wife, but she doesn’t get it until she’s thirty. We’re talking more than a half a billion dollars in monetary inheritance alone; that’s not taking into account the holdings and the business he started. Oh, and the estate that Ann still resides at.”

“What did he leave her?”

“Five thousand dollars so that she couldn’t contest the will. If your wife dies, then the money, everything goes to charity, unless your wife has a child, then it all goes to the kid. I have the lawyers’ information to pass along to you if you’d like. From what little I gathered, they’ve been looking for her for a while, which I take to mean she has no idea about the will.”

I thanked Silas for the information and then sat in silence as I got my thoughts together. I’m pretty sure Giselle knows nothing about the will. She’ll be thirty in two years, and now she has a son. There’s no doubt that Ann Winthrop knows the terms of her late husband’s will, so…

My mind went to a dark and sinister place. I’m about to put a wrench in this bitch’s plans. No wonder she wanted to get my wife away from me. As I reached the door of the office, I came up short at the realization that I had no doubts about Giselle’s innocence. The fact that it never crossed my mind that she might’ve known about the will was all the evidence I needed to show me that my anger and distrust in her was at an end.

I went to the master suite to shower and get dressed so I could head downstairs to have breakfast with my family before going to meet my mother in law. I stopped off in the study long enough to give Delores, who was in there, some instructions. “Bring my wife’s stuff out of storage and put it back in the master suite. Call Ellen and have her clean all the jewelry in the vault and reset the pieces that need it; I’ve left it unlocked.”

I walked away, choosing to ignore the smug look she gave me. “And Delores, what happens in my home is no one else’s business.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Yeah, that’s why she had the phone in her damn hand when I looked back at her. I hadn’t even cleared the door before I heard her address mom on the phone.

“It’s done; that boy came to his senses; how much do I owe you?” I only heard her side of the conversation, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out what that was about. “No-no, a bet’s a bet, you won fair and square, you do know him better. I thought for sure, stubborn as he is, it would take at least another month or two. Oh, you still here?” She finally noticed me in the doorway, watching her, and shooed me away.

I shook my head as I walked away, feeling lighter than I have in forever. I’ll feel ten times lighter after I deal with this beast that thought she could come between my family and I. I had to change the look on my face when I walked into the breakfast room and saw my wife and son already seated at the table waiting for me. A scene I hope to repeat time and again.CalenI put aside my thoughts for the next hour as I enjoyed the time spent with my family, then called mom to come over and stay with them while I was gone even though I’d beefed up security, and there was no way anyone was getting near them. Before leaving, I leaned over her, where she sat hand feeding the baby pieces of fruit, which he seemed to have no interest in.

“I’ll be gone for a little while; you’re not to leave this house.” She looked at me as if only now remembering that I was going to meet her mother. “Do you really have to go see her?”