2
Josie
I shove the door open, not bothering to knock. The kitchen floor softens my angry footsteps, but it doesn't hide them.
"Mom? Dad?" My voice echoes through the large house.
Dad appears in the doorway, wiping his hands on a dish towel. "Honey? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"
"Where's Mom?" I demand.
"In the living room." His brow furrows. "What's wrong? You usually call before you come by."
I storm past him into the other room. Mom. I glare at her. "He's lived here for thirty years and you never let me see him," I say, my voice tight.
Mom looks up from her book. "Josie." She stands up to hug me. "What are you talking about? Who?"
"Opa." I shake the registered letter at her. "He lived here in town. Only a few miles away. And you never told me."
Her brows furrow deeper. "He did . I assumed he left after all the legal trouble." She nods at the envelope. "What is that?"
"A copy of his will." I pass it to her and sink into the couch.
Mom pulls the papers out of the official envelope and gives them a quick once-over, then hands them to Dad. Her mouth tightens. "So the world is finally free of him."
Dad glances at the will and back at me, whistling under his breath. "Do you have any idea how much that place is worth?"
I stare at them both in surprise. They don't even care that Grandpa's dead.
I sigh. "I looked it up," I mutter. "It's worth millions. Twenty-eight, to be exact. How the hell did he even have that kind of money?"
This doesn't make any sense. We've always had enough money—Dad works in finance, and mom was the Director of HR for the university until she retired a few years ago. But a penthouse suite in the middle of the city worth millions?
Dad puts a hand on mom's arm to settle her before turning back to me. "He was a real estate developer. One of the men who built Delmont up from a nothing town after the war."
Mom frowns at me. "I think you should sell it. Use the money to pay off your school loans. Put the rest away."
"It'll be worth a lot more by the time I retire if I hold on to it." I glance at my dad, and he nods reluctantly.
Mom's jaw tightens. "It shouldn't be in the family." She turns heel and disappears into her room. I move to follow her, but my dad catches my arm.
I turn to him. "What the hell was that about?"
"Don't swear, mieloji." His tone softens as he slips into his Lithuanian endearments for me. "You know they never got along. Let it be. No good comes of bringing up the past."
I groan in frustration. "I'm an adult. You don't need to protect me."
He squeezes my shoulder. "It's not about protecting you, Josephine. It's about protecting your Mutti ."
I shake his hand off me. It's always about protecting Mom.
I leave them to their silence. I'll find my answers somewhere else.
"Ms. Murphy." I shake the lawyer's hand, trying to smile. My mom's harsh words about the penthouse still echo in my head.
She gestures to the chair. "Please sit, Dr. Mueller. We have a lot to discuss." She pauses. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you."
She pulls out a stack of papers and lays them on the desk in front of me. "Did you have a chance to review the will?
I purse my lips. "It seems fairly straightforward."
Her nose twitches. "Yes, it is. But it's not as simple as it looks."
"Okay." I sit back, waiting.
"Your grandfather stipulated that all the assets are tied to each other. In order to claim the financial assets—the stocks and bonds, what's left of his retirement funds—you also have to accept the penthouse."
"I can sell it later, though?"
She hesitates. "The penthouse is… complicated." She clears her throat. "There's a decades-old lawsuit attached to the property."
That makes me sit up. "What does that mean? What kind of lawsuit?"
She removes her glasses, setting them carefully on the desk. She leans forward on her elbows, watching me. "A settlement was made thirty years ago. Upon your grandfather's death, the inheritor of the penthouse owes the current building owners a quarter million dollars. That must be paid before the property and financial assets are released to you."
I stare at her. "You're saying I have to come up with $50,000 in order to inherit this, or I lose everything."
She nods, steepling her fingers. "Essentially, yes. But it's worth it. The other assets are valued at around $50 million."
I let out a long breath. "Is there any way to fight it? What was the lawsuit about?"
She leans back with a sigh. "The court case was highly publicized. I can have my assistant pull some records, but you'll probably find more online." She frowns. "Legally you could fight it. I wouldn't recommend it."
"Reason being?"
"From my rudimentary understanding of the original court case, the Vanderveens went easy on your grandfather. There were allegations he was involved in some questionable dealings. Most experts at the time thought the penthouse should've stayed with the rest of the building." She gives me a pointed look. "There was talk your grandfather paid off the judge."
I frown. "If I fight it, what would I have to lose?"
She raises an eyebrow. "A lot. The most likely scenario is the penthouse would remain your inheritance. But any judge would award the Vanderveens an adjustment for inflation. That would probably triple what you'd need to come up with."
I inhale slowly, then nod. That's not a risk I'm willing to take. "How long do I have?"
"Legally, ten months after his death. That was ten days ago."
I run my hand through my hair. "And in the meantime, what about the upkeep of the place? Security, all that?" I ask.
She slides a set of keys across the desk. "I can release them to you now if you intend to accept it."
"What else do I need to know?" I ask, my mind racing.
I have to come up with that money.
I need to visit the penthouse and decide what to do about it. I wonder what I'll find inside it. The man was 101 years old, and didn't have anyone close to him.
She shakes her head. "That's everything. That settlement is the only thing standing in the way of you becoming a very wealthy woman, Doctor."
A multi-millionaire.
I stare at the keys.
Where am I going to find that kind of money?