My mother called me selfish for protecting my inheritance. Now she's serving 7 years for fraud—and I own the house she tried to steal.

Arthur Crane was waiting for me at Nora's office.

He was a thin man with sharp eyes and a quiet voice. He had been my grandfather's lawyer for thirty years.

"Miss Kingsley," he said. "Your grandfather told me to be ready for this."

"Ready for what?"

"For your family to destroy themselves."

He slid a folder across the table.

"Your mother has been stealing from the family for a long time. But she wasn't just stealing from you. She was stealing from your father too."

"What do you mean?"

"Your father's business is in trouble. It has been for years. Your mother has been siphoning money to cover the losses. She's been lying to him about the company's finances."

I stared at him. "My father doesn't know?"

"He suspects. But he's in denial. He doesn't want to believe his wife would do that to him."

"But she would."

"Yes." Arthur nodded. "She would. And she has."

I sat back in my chair. The truth was even worse than I had imagined.

"Evelyn, your grandfather left you the evidence. The bank statements. The forged documents. Everything. He knew this would happen. And he wanted you to have the tools to fight back."

"Why didn't he do something before he died?"

"He was old. He was tired. And he knew that if he confronted your mother, she would have destroyed everything. He wanted you to have a chance."

"A chance?"

"A chance to build your own life. A chance to be free."

I looked at the folder in front of me.

"Thank you," I said.

"Don't thank me yet. The fight is just beginning."

I walked out of the office.