Placing the box on the table, I flip the lid open, and the only thing in there is the envelope. When Ethan sees it, he pulls out a chair and sits down. "Just seeing it again," he says. "Fucks with my head."
Jacob stands next to him. "He doesn’t have the power," he tells him, and I take the envelope out and hand it to Beau.
He pulls the letter out that I got. "Is this like yours?" he asks Ethan, and he just scans it and then nods. "I mean, mine said my parents were liars. You didn’t get that part." He continues to read it.
"What else is in there?" Beau asks, and he opens the letter and looks at the paper and gasps out. The three of us just look at him.
"Holy fuck," he says and then looks at me. "Did you read this?" He holds up the paper, and I just shake my head.
“It was all a blur. There was the DNA proof and all that, and I didn’t really look at that one. Why?"
"Because according to this paper." He reads it. "You are rightfully heir to his money as soon as you turn thirty." I look at him, confused. "Liam’s allowance will be stopped as soon as you turn thirty."
"Oh my God," Jacob says, looking at the paper.
"And if you are not around to collect it," he continues, "Liam’s allowance will continue as usual."
"What about Ethan?" I ask, looking at him, hoping he doesn’t feel left out.
"Ethan gets control after Liam dies." He laughs. "Apparently, I’ve got my inheritances, which is the mayor’s office." He shakes his head. "What a fucking idiot." He continues to read the paper "You’re loaded," Beau says. "Really loaded." He flips over the papers.
"We need to make sure that nothing happens to these papers," Jacob says, and Beau puts the papers on the desk and takes pictures of them and then emails them to Casey.
Who calls him right away. "What is this?" he asks.
"That is the whole reason Liam is trying to get rid of Asher," Beau says and fills him in.
"I’m going to send this to my lawyer and make sure it’s filed with the court," Casey says. "He’s going to make sure that everything is put into place."
I sit at the table, not knowing what the hell is going on. My head spins around and around. "I don’t understand any of this," I admit, and Beau smiles.
"For once, the good guy is going to win," he says, turning his attention back to the phone.
"I had everything I ever wanted or needed," I admit. "I had a woman who I loved with everything I had and who loved me back." I shake my head, the pain of not seeing her today too much to bear. "I had a job I loved. I was finally fucking happy. The money meant fucking nothing to me."
"And then it’s ripped away from you, and all you can do is watch it slip away," Ethan says, his hand going to my arm. "You are going to get her back," he says, but even I know how Amelia is. I know how stuck in her ways she is. If she has written me off, I’m written off, and nothing anyone can say or do will change her mind.
"If Liam is looking for me," I say. "I won’t stay here and wait for him like a sitting duck." I swallow, knowing what I have to do. "I have to leave and go as far away from you guys as I can go."
"Or," Ethan says, looking at Jacob. "We lead him to us."
Here, in the middle of a bank, the four of us put together a plan that I can either walk out alive or walk out dead.
Chapter 32
Amelia
I open my eyes and look over, seeing the bed empty. The pain in my chest comes right away as I turn away from what was his spot. The tear runs down my face, no matter how much I fight it. I finally sent everyone home last night. It’s been three days of everyone hovering around me, and I needed space.
I flip the covers off me and get up, my body aching. Grabbing my robe, I walk out to the coffee maker. Looking outside, I find the sky starting to turn a little gray with the sun coming up. It’s been three days since I’ve seen him. It’s been three days since I felt his touch. It’s been three days since I could breathe without feeling like something was lodged in my chest.
When it’s the quietest is when it’s the worst. It’s when my mind has time to wander. It’s when my mind plays games with me and makes me remember the little things. When he used to kiss me right behind my ear and say I love you. When he used to bring me coffee in the morning. When he would make me feel like I’ve never felt before. It’s all there, no matter how much I try to put it in a box and lock it. I pour the black coffee into the mug and turn to drink it in the kitchen. Even my house isn’t a sacred place anymore. Every single corner has a memory of him. I blink away the stinging of the tears that threaten to come.