Page 21 of Audon

That’s not what he called it, but it meant that to him. He was able to have the adoption paperwork pushed through so that he could be Lizzy’s adoptive father. He couldn’t have been happier than he was at that moment.

~*~

Trin kept looking at the adoption paperwork. It had been so easy for the paperwork to go through that she couldn’t believe it. Instead of being Elizabeth Banton, her sister and brother were going to adopt her too; she was now Elizabeth Hathaway. It hurt her heart when she thought of all that her sister and brother-in-law had missed out on.

Lizzy was making milestones every day, it seemed like, and they were missing them. Just yesterday she’d gone to the cemetery and had talked to them both. Mostly her sister, but she’d talked to Robert as well. She told them all the things that Lizzy was doing now as well as how happy she was with Audon in her life.

“We’ve been turning the house upside down and working with all the furniture. I loved your décor, but it wasn’t us.” She’d told her sister which rooms she was working in now and how they’d been able to sell off most of what was in the room. “It’s going to be an office for me. Then I’m going to change your office into a playroom for Lizzy. That way she can play on the first floor and not have to be so far away from us. I plan on keeping pictures of you and Robert all around the room so that I can talk to her about you two.”

Wiping at her tears, she thought of the day that they’d been killed. She’d only given birth the day before and was less than twenty-four hours later that they were both dead. Robert had died first; he’d been driving the car, and Milly had died later at the hospital. She’d not got to see either one of them when they’d been brought in, and that made her sad. Milly at least had lived for another four hours after the accident, and they tried to save her. She missed her more than she did anything.

“I’ve been trying to put together things for Lizzy for later. I know she’s going to have questions; I do as well. But the things I’m keeping—the wedding rings for you both are hers. Most of the jewelry too. Your wedding album, of course. I’m also keeping some of the things that people sent to the funeral home where your service was.” She had looked out over the beautiful cemetery and wondered at all the giant trees that were there. “This place must be really old for these trees to be here. I’ve never been here before you guys were settled here.”

People were visiting the grave markers of their family, she supposed. There was a group of people about a hundred yards away that looked like they were there for a service. She didn’t want to intrude on their sorrow, so she kept to herself. When the cars started to line up near to where the people were, she decided to head home. Walking there didn’t take much of her time, but she stopped at the store on her way out. She needed to pick up a loaf of bread for sandwiches the next day.

Audon was working today. Tomorrow he was going to have a crew come in and box up his building. He’d bought one that could be broken down and set up elsewhere, and that’s what he was doing. She thought it was a wonderful idea that he was extending his work area a bit and that when it was all finished, all he had to do was walk to where he wanted to work. She had yet to see any of his work, but when he was unpacked at the place nearer to the house, she could just pop in and see him.

Tomorrow she was going to be going back to work too. She’d be able to have Lizzy nearby if she got to the point where she missed her. Being an investment banker had given her a lot of insight on things to invest in, and she had her own portfolio that she worked on as well. A lot of her clients had been waiting for her to come back to work, and she didn’t want to disappoint them. Trin loved her job and didn’t know what else she’d do if she couldn’t be investing for people.

She was still sitting at the makeshift desk she had in Milly’s office. She’d not been using her desk yet. Even though it was all hooked up for her to use thanks to Gilman, she’d not been able to make herself clean off the little things on the desk. She’d get there soon enough, but for now she was all right with working at the little table she’d been using. When her phone rang, she answered it with a smile.

“Hello. My name is Vestel Harsh. You have my granddaughter, Elizabeth, and the estate from my son. I’d like to talk to you about getting some of his things.” She asked what sort of things he wanted. “Some of the estate would be nice. It just isn’t fair that you got everything and we were left with nothing.”

“Your son was driving the car when the accident occurred. Perhaps had he not been arguing with Milly at the time, they’d both be alive. He’d been told before about driving angry.” He said that was a lie, that he loved Milly very much. “I know that he did. I saw them together all the time before the accident. What is it you really want?”

“Half the estate. You can well afford it. And his insurance policies. There were two of them, and we got nothing because he’d made it so that his wife got it all. Then when she died, you got everything.” She said because she was raising their daughter as her own. “That’s another thing. We’d like to have joint custody of the child too. There is no point in you getting to make every decision there is regarding her when we’re around too.”

“She’s my daughter. I’m sure you know that. I delivered her for them, and she’s my little girl.” He said that it wasn’t fair that they couldn’t see her. “No one is stopping you from seeing Lizzy. You make an appointment with me, and I’ll have her there. You won’t be taking her home with you, however.”

“I’m trying to be nice here. I think you’re keeping her from us so that we can’t have a bond with her.” She told him that she just said they could see her. “We want to keep her for a week. Or more. You’ve had her all her life, and it’s our turn.”

“You’re not going to be able to do that, I’m afraid. She’s been adopted by my husband recently, and she is his daughter too.” He asked why she’d do that. “Because I fell in love and he wanted us both to be his family. It was approved just a few days ago, as a matter of fact.”

“You’re purposely making things difficult for us. This isn’t going to go in your favor. I want our part of the estate and visitation rights to my granddaughter. I was thinking half a year for us both starting right now.” She told him no. “We’ve been talking to an attorney, and he said that we can win full custody of her and get every penny of the estate. If I were you, I’d not be spending it all. I’m going to take you for all that you have.”

“Did you know that your son had to go to anger management classes? That he had to go at least once a week in the months prior to my becoming my sister’s surrogate? You see, he’d been in trouble with his coworkers and his company decided that he go to them or he lose his job. He did lose it in the end; did you know that?” He called her a liar. “Believe what you wish, but I lived with them, and I knew what was going on. The night they were killed, the night that your son hit my sister, they were arguing all the way from the house to where the accident occurred. While we have no proof they were arguing at the end of their lives, my sister had a fresh bruise on her skin that wasn’t consistent with the accident.”

“You’re making this all up to make yourself look better.” She told him that he could have a copy of the coroner’s report as well. “I don’t believe you. Robert was a good man. He had a bit of a temper, but he was good to Milly.”

“He was when he wasn’t angry.” He called her a liar again. “Like I said. I lived with them for the last ten months of their lives. Robert would even argue with me, but he never hit me. He knew better.”

“You’re saying that he beat your sister? I don’t believe that.” She didn’t say anything, but she could almost feel him thinking. “He never hit me either. He, as you said, knew better. But he did hit his mother.”

“I could have him brought up on charges of murder.” She let that sink into his thoughts. “There is proof that he hit Milly. Also that he wasn’t faring well with the anger management classes. Would you like it if I were to say that he murdered my sister in a fit of anger and that’s why they’re both dead? It wouldn’t do well for your son’s reputation, now would it?”

“We just want our fair share.” She said that she couldn’t do that. That she’d done what they both had wanted and put all the money into a trust fund for Lizzy. “You’re not spending the money? What about their house? I’m sure you’re living in it.”

“You’d be right. I’m raising their daughter to be my own, another thing that they both wanted in the event that anything happened to them. I can have copies of their wills sent to you. It’s very clear that they wanted me to raise her like my own and have the house to do it in. Again, I can make trouble for you, but I’d rather not do that.” He started crying, and she hurt for them. “You can see Lizzy anytime you like so long as it’s here at my house. There was a reason that Robert didn’t want you to be a part of Lizzy’s life, and that was because he knew about the affairs as well as the money issues that you had. He was afraid that you’d try to kidnap her from me and that you’d do just what you’re doing now. Try to make it so that I have to pay you money. Is that what this is all about? Money?”

“Yes.” He sobbed again, and she felt her heart shift in her chest. No longer did she feel sorry for the man and his wife, but he’d hardened her heart so that he never was alone with the little girl. “We’re broke. More than that, we’re about to lose everything.”

“I’m sorry. But that has nothing to do with the estate of my sister and your son. It’s more to do with the way you’ve been gambling away all that you’ve been given. How much was Robert giving you each month to help you settle your debts?” It was only a guess on her part that Robert was helping his family, but apparently she’d been right. When he told her how much he’d been handing over each month, she couldn’t believe it. “So much money and yet you’re still broke? What have you been doing with that money? Gambling more? If you were to have gotten half the estate, how much do you suppose there would be left of it by now?”

“We’re looking for a good payoff.” She just shook her head and looked around her office while he went on. “You can’t blame us for wanting more money from the estate. It’s what has been keeping us in our house all this time. He’s been paying our mortgage and buying us food.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.” She wouldn’t either. It wasn’t up to her to keep paying a debt that would never be paid off. “You’ve dug yourself in a hole; now you’re going to have to get yourself out of it. Robert never mentioned that he was paying you off, and I can’t afford to keep putting money into something that won’t be paid off.”

“You bitch. You will help us, or I’ll take you to court.” She simply hung up the phone. She sat there for several minutes wondering if it would ring again, but when it didn’t, she called Axel.