Page 106 of Wicked Promises (Fallen Royals 3)
Mom glared at her. “How dare—”
Mr. Black started talking, silencing the room. It appeared that no one wanted to miss a word of this. “‘I, Benjamin Asher, am of sound body and mind…’”
I zoned out. It sounded like gibberish, and my attention was on the window. On the way the light reflected through the prism hanging from the window lock, casting a pale rainbow on the floor.
“‘To Lydia Asher,’” Mr. Black read, “‘I leave only the dust beneath my shoes. You…’” He clears his throat. “‘You deserve nothing, not even our son.’”
Gasps filled the room.
I looked up at Mom, whose face was… horrified.
“No,” she whispered. “That bastard.”
“Mom?”
“It’ll be okay, honey,” she said.
Mr. Black cleared his throat. “‘To my son, Caleb Asher, I leave in a trust my shares of Prinze Industries, all monies and investments, and physical properties, to be matured when he turns eighteen years old.’”
My mouth dropped open. “What does that mean?”
“He left you… everything,” one of the relatives said.
“And finally, to my brother, David Asher, I leave the stewardship of Caleb’s inheritance and the board position, to guide and protect until it is transferred to Caleb’s name. This includes potential guardianship of Caleb himself, should David and family remain fit per state standards.”
Uncle David turned to Mom and me. “Well, that was… worth the trip, dare I say?”
Mom pushed me behind her. “You had a hand in this,” she snarled. “All because—”
“You got into bed with the wrong person,” he finished. His attention moved to me. “I’ll be seeing you soon, I suspect.”
I glared at him, and it just made him laugh.
It was the last thing I heard out of Uncle David’s mouth as he walked away.
“Josh,” Mom said, shoving through relatives until we were up to the deck. “He can’t be serious. When were these changes made?”
He shuffled some papers. “July 5, 2008.”
She gasped. “He knew.”
“About your affair? I suppose he did.” He produced a sealed envelope and passed it to her. “He left this for you. And one for you, Caleb.”
I took the envelope he handed me carefully. “Can I read it?”
“Whenever you want.” Mr. Black raised his head. “Give us the room, please.”
People grumbled behind me, but I paid them no mind. Dad had always taught me that lesser people will always make more noise—it’s action that mattered.
I took a step away from Mom, who was… well, I wasn’t sure if she was crying, exactly, but she was definitely in shock.
I half listened to their conversation. “David and Iris aren’t fit parents,” she said. “But his will made it sound like Caleb…”
“He can’t take away your parental rights,” Mr. Black said.
“But I have nothing, is that right? Just a savings account in my name that I can…”
I pulled out the letter and unfolded it.