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<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He looked nothing like the frazzled man who had read the will just forty-eight hours ago. He was wearing a sharp tuxedo, and his face held a grim sort of satisfaction.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet in, Eliana,\u201d he said softly. \u201cWe have a lot to discuss.\u201d<\/p>\n
Confused and shivering in the morning chill, I climbed into the warmth of the car. The leather seats smelled new, and there was a glass of sparkling water waiting for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Sterling?\u201d I stammered, clutching my single bag of clothes. \u201cI don\u2019t understand. You said there was no money. You said Dina got everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said the\u00a0liquid<\/i>\u00a0assets were depleted by your mother\u2019s medical bills,\u201d he corrected, a twinkle in his eye. \u201cAnd I read the\u00a0Public<\/i>\u00a0Will. That is the document your parents prepared for the world\u2014and specifically for your Aunt Dina\u2014to see. But your father knew his sister better than anyone. He suspected that without the promise of money, her true colors would show.\u201d<\/p>\n
He handed me a thick envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour parents set up a contingency clause,\u201d Sterling explained. \u201cIt was a test of character. The terms were simple: If Dina took you in and cared for you despite there being \u2018no money,\u2019 the family trust\u2014worth roughly five million dollars\u2014would be unlocked and split evenly between the two of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
My jaw dropped. \u201cFive million?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever,\u201d Sterling continued, his voice hardening, \u201cthere was a second clause. If Dina abandoned you, evicted you, or caused you harm within thirty days of the funeral, she would forfeit her claim to the trust entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo\u2026\u201d I whispered, the realization washing over me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, by kicking you out after only two days, she failed the test spectacularly,\u201d Sterling smiled. \u201cThe trust is now 100% yours. And as for the house\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe still owns it, doesn\u2019t she?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe does,\u201d Sterling nodded. \u201cBut she also inherited the three years of unpaid property taxes and the massive structural repair liens your father took out against the property to pay for your mother\u2019s experimental medication. The house is a money pit, Eliana. Without the trust fund to maintain it, she will likely be bankrupt within six months.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat back, tears streaming down my face\u2014not of sadness, but of relief. My parents had been looking out for me from beyond the grave. They knew I couldn\u2019t survive living with a woman who hated me, so they ensured I wouldn\u2019t have to.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere would you like to go?\u201d Sterling asked. \u201cThe estate has a penthouse in the city that is currently vacant and fully furnished.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTake me there,\u201d I said. \u201cBut first\u2026 can we drive by the house one last time?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sterling nodded to the driver.<\/p>\n
We looped around the block. As the sleek black limo crawled past the driveway, I saw Dina on the porch. She was in her bathrobe, holding a coffee cup, looking smugly at the empty spot on the sidewalk where she thought I\u2019d be begging.<\/p>\n
I rolled down the tinted window just as she looked up. Her eyes went wide. She saw me sitting in luxury, holding the envelope, with the most powerful lawyer in the city beside me.<\/p>\n
She dropped her coffee mug. It shattered on the concrete.<\/p>\n
She began to run toward the car, shouting, waving her arms frantically, realizing she had made a mistake, though she didn\u2019t yet know just how expensive that mistake was.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep driving,\u201d I told the driver.<\/p>\n
I rolled the window up, shutting out her screams. I didn\u2019t hate her. I didn\u2019t need to. She had created her own prison, and I had just been given the key to my freedom.<\/p>\n
My life was just beginning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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