My Family Faked Mom's Death to Stop My Wedding—My Adopted Sister Had My Fiancé's Baby novel · Chapter 10 of 24
Chapter 10: What the Rule Was For
I read it in the back of Bruce's car with the dome light on.
Claire sat in the front seat with the baby asleep against her chest.
Rain ran down the glass.
The first page was a typed memo with my father's initials in the corner.
The date was six years ago, the month my grandmother had her stroke.
It said: L.'s trust, trustee duties transferred to the Chairman. Genoa shortfall: 34M. Trust pays out at 30 or on marriage, whichever first. Marriage must not happen before shortfall is covered.
I read the last sentence three times.
"Marriage must not happen," I said.
"Keep reading," Bruce said quietly.
The second page was a plan in my father's square handwriting.
It had five lines.
Place someone in her life she'll trust. Engage, never marry. Veto rule, already in place, assign order. E.P. for the signature authority. C. for E.P., so he stays.
C.
I turned to the front seat.
"Claire."
She didn't turn around.
"You were the 'C.'"
"I was twenty-one." Her voice was tiny. "Your father said Ethan was a good man who needed a wife to settle him, and that you were too young to get hurt. He said it was only for a few years. He said the money was a loan from your grandmother's trust, and that you'd never miss it."
"He told you it was a loan."
"I believed him." She was crying silently now, rocking the baby. "Ethan and I got married in Bermuda on a Tuesday. I never told anyone. A year later he proposed to you in front of the family. I watched it from the kitchen."
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