“The will is very clear. And since Robert and I are building our future, we need liquidity. You understand?”
I understood plenty.
I understood that she had been planning this since the day Robert brought her home eight years earlier. I understood that my son, who I had put through college by selling my mother’s jewelry and working double shifts, had chosen this woman over me. I understood that Daniel had warned me quietly over breakfast six months before.
“Maggie, if something happens to me, don’t trust the paperwork. Wait for Mr. Brennan.”
Mr. Brennan was Daniel’s estate attorney. I had not heard from him. Vanessa said he was unavailable and that a junior associate had handled everything.
“Where will I go?” I asked.
My voice was calm. Flat.
Vanessa shrugged. “That’s not really our problem, is it? You’re sixty-eight. You must have savings. Social Security. Robert and I have our own family to think about.”
They did not have children. Vanessa had been trying for seven years, which apparently meant monthly spa trips and refusing to see a fertility specialist because, in her words, “the universe will provide when the time is right.”
Robert finally looked up. “Mom, don’t—”
