“Thank God.”
We ate at my kitchen table.
Then I told her about the will.
Maeve became immediately suspicious.
“What did you do?”
“A charming reaction.”
“Arden.”
I left my primary residence to the foundation for conversion into a leadership retreat and employee education center.
Most liquid assets went to charity and trust reserves.
Maeve received enough to eliminate debt, fund retirement, and create long-term security.
Not hundreds of millions.
She would have hated that.
Ellie received an education trust and a smaller inheritance accessible in stages.
There was also something else.
Lorna’s jewelry.
Not corporate assets.
Not valuable enough to matter financially.
Valuable enough to matter emotionally.
I left it all to Maeve and Ellie.
Maeve stared at me.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it was hers.”
“That doesn’t make it ours.”
“No. But you are the closest family she has left.”
