Chapter 4: Rent

Sheldon Tisdale's lawyer stood on my dock at dawn with the folder already open and said the number out loud.

'Two hundred thousand dollars to stop being Marin Ashcroft.'

Leander's hand was closed over mine on the training knife, correcting my grip.

Sheldon Tisdale's lawyer, Penhallow, walked onto the dock; his shoes hit the boards.

Leander's hand stayed where it was.

I did not let go.

I finished the correction, turned the blade once, and lowered it.

Penhallow watched the whole thing. He wore a gray tie with a knot pulled too tight.

'Mr. Tisdale is prepared to be generous,' he said.

'Generous,' I said. 'That's what he calls buying my grandmother's name.'

He slid a page across the folder toward me. The amount sat at the top in bold type.

'Read the terms,' he said. 'The money is already in an account in your name. It becomes yours the moment you sign the statement at the bottom.'

I read the statement first. I am not an Ashcroft. I never was. I have no claim to the name, the estate, the locket, the key, or the boathouse.

Then I read the date beside the payment line.

Three weeks before the engagement party.

Sheldon had bought my silence before Helen ever stood on that stage.

He had moved before Helen did.

'This was drafted before the test was read,' I said.

Penhallow's pen stopped moving.

'Mr. Tisdale plans ahead.'

'He plans early,' I said. 'There's a difference, and you know it.'

His mouth thinned. 'The ring has been returned to the family. Miss Rowe is already wearing the pearls.'

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