My mother whispered:
“What did Grandpa leave you?”
I looked at all three of them.
“Control.”
Savannah laughed nervously.
“Control of what?”
“Everything.”
Dad suddenly stepped forward.
“You don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“I understand the bank statements.”
His face changed.
“I understand the trust.”
I opened the folder.
“And I understand the eight million dollars.”
Silence.
Mom looked at Dad.
Savannah’s eyes widened.
“What eight million dollars?”
Dad snapped:
“Stay out of this.”
That was when Savannah finally realized something.
Her entire life, she had believed she was the favorite because Dad loved her more.
But now she was discovering that Dad had been hiding things from her too.
I looked at my sister.
“Apparently, you’re not the only person he lied to.”
She stared at our father.
“Dad?”
He said nothing.
I picked up my coat.
“I didn’t come here for an apology.”
Mom began crying.
“Fiona, please.”
I stopped at the door.
“You told me I was a failure.”
I turned around.
“You were right about one thing.”
They looked at me.
“I failed to understand how little you actually knew about me.”
Then I walked outside.
The snow was still falling.
But for the first time that day, I wasn’t cold.
My phone rang before I reached my car.
It was Mr. Wright.
I answered.
“Miss Palmer,” he said urgently, “there’s a problem.”
“What happened?”
“The moment we activated your grandfather’s trust, someone attempted to transfer nearly twelve million dollars from one of the company’s accounts.”
I stopped walking.
“Who?”
There was a long pause.
Then he said:
“Your father.”
I looked back at the house.
The Christmas lights were glowing warmly behind the windows.
And suddenly, I understood.
Grandpa hadn’t given me ninety-four million dollars because he wanted to make me rich.
He had given me the power to uncover exactly who had been stealing from the family all along.
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