Chapter 7
Lily
Isip my coffee, wrapped in just the hotel robe, still under the covers in my ridiculously sized suite for one.
I’m not sure what it says about me that I slept harder the last two nights than I have in a very long time.
Not that I feel refreshed, considering the weight of my reality woke me up with a start.
Flipping to a local news channel, my heart freezes when I see the reporter standing at the end of my driveway. The banner below her reads Local Businessman Murdered in His Home. I try to suck in a breath, but it feels like a cement block is on my chest.
I don’t know why I’m caught off guard. Obviously, this would be newsworthy. I turn up the volume as a picture of Blake and me from a charity gala last year appears on screen.
“Blake Bennett was found dead Saturday morning, we are told, by his wife, who was taken to the police station for further questioning. No arrests have been made at this time.”
I turn off the TV, and my shaky hand drops onto the bed.
Closing my eyes, I focus on taking deep breaths.
I let the rhythmic rise and fall of my chest calm my system.
Taking one final breath, I open my eyes.
There’s nothing I can do to change the narrative the news may spin. All I can do is take care of myself.
With the help of my new attorney.
The scene from the news slowly transforms into Chris standing in the hotel room, smiling at me, and my body’s visceral reaction changes.
The twist of my stomach now has more to do with the smoldering, dark eyes of a certain attorney. These feelings of excitement and attraction are unfamiliar. It’s been many years since I felt genuinely positive feelings for a man. Not since Blake and I were first dating, before things got bad.
I flip the comforter back and swing my legs out of bed to walk to the bathroom. I don’t have clean clothes, but at least I can take a quick shower.
I need to go see Vernon today. He called me yesterday, but I didn’t have the capacity to talk to him.
But I can’t put it off. It’s embarrassing to admit that I’ll need to figure out all the things I never had access to.
Like our mortgage and Blake’s cars. I’m hoping Vernon can give me some information on some of that.
By the time I make it down to the lobby, I’ve regained all of my composure.
I’ve slipped back into business mode, as that is the default I’m much more comfortable with.
It helps that I had sunglasses in my bag to help give myself the guise of anonymity, just in case any of the other guests watched the news this morning.
I also prefer to cover the bruises as much as possible so as not to draw attention to myself.
My ride arrives just as I step outside, and I quickly climb into the backseat, greeting the driver.
Thankfully, he seems as uninterested in making small talk as I am during our drive.
But as the miles pass, a slight tendril of fear prickles into my skin.
My hands start to tremble as we get closer to Vernon’s office.
I’m surprised my legs even hold me up when I step out of the car.
On the walk into the building, I work to calm myself, knowing I need to keep my wits about me. I don’t know how Vernon is going to act around me now that Blake is gone.
Oh, and the fact that I’m being investigated for his murder.
Vernon has been loyal to Blake for so long that he even made the move to Nashville with us. If Blake and I had a different kind of relationship, I probably would’ve thought it was cute that his attorney moved with us. Maybe would’ve teased him about it good-naturedly.
But we didn’t. So I kept my mouth shut.
Now, I’m having to face a man who will undoubtedly be suspicious of me.
I should have had Chris come with me.
I pull the door open and step inside the small office. Vernon’s receptionist smiles at me, then as her eyes travel over my face, her smile starts to evaporate. She recovers slightly and says as cheerfully as possible, “Hi, can I help you?”
“Yes, I need to see Vernon. My name is Lily Bennett.”
Her gaze moves from me to her computer. “Do you have an appointment?”
My eyebrows push together in confusion. Does Vernon even have other clients besides Blake?
“Uh, no. But I think Vernon will make time for me if you let him know I’m here.”
Surely, he’s heard about Blake, since the news stations were already outside our house.
She continues to stare for a moment, and I contemplate just walking the three feet to his door. Finally, she picks up the phone and pushes a button. I can hear ringing, then a gruff, muffled voice comes through the line before she says, “Yes, there’s a Mrs. Bennett here to see you.”
Something’s said, but I can’t make it out.
“Yes, sir.” She hangs up the phone and gestures to the door. “You can go on in.”
I take the few steps to the office door, and with a hand on the cool doorknob, I take one last steadying breath before turning it and stepping inside. Vernon looks up from his computer and frowns as I approach.
Once I sit carefully in the chair in front of his desk, he points at my face. “You didn’t think you should cover that up?”
I decide to go with the truth. “I don’t have access to the house to get my makeup. The police haven’t released it.”
He leans back in his chair with a sigh, his elbow on his armrest, rubbing his fingers over his lips in thought. “I was hoping the news was wrong. I tried to call him, but when he didn’t answer... Tried to call you, too.”
My nod is slow and cautious. “Yes, it’s true. I’m sorry I didn’t answer. I needed a day to myself.”
The hand on his face drops to his lap. “Did you do it?”
I school my features. “Vern, you of all people should know, it’d be stupid for me to discuss this case while the police are still investigating.”
He huffs a laugh. “Good answer. You get an attorney?”
“Chris Rivers.”
A look of surprise crosses his face. “Rivers? I didn’t think he was doing criminal defense work anymore.”
I shrug because I have no idea what to tell him. “Well, I guess he does now. Or again? I don’t really know.”
Leaning forward, he rests his elbows on his desk. “If that’s the case, good for you. You certainly have one of the best in your corner.”
This conversation is somewhat confusing. I came here prepared to face Vernon’s wrath over his friend being dead, but now he’s complimenting me on my choice of attorney? I’m unsure how to interpret this.
He starts typing as he goes on, “I know Blake wasn’t always…forthcoming with you about things. I’m guessing you want to know about your assets?”
I fidget in my seat. Not forthcoming is a very nice way to put how Blake withheld all information from me that would be common knowledge in most marriages.
“Yes. I don’t know if Blake would have left me anything with the prenup.
I’ll be honest, I never read the whole prenup because, at the time, I didn’t care.
But I don’t really want anything of his.
I needed to know about our bills. Especially about our mortgage.
I never took care of anything, so I’m at a loss. ”
Vernon frowns again. “You signed a legal document without reading it?”
I lift my hands. “In my defense, I was very young.”
More typing. “Don’t do that again.”
I nod, and he continues. “But that really doesn’t matter much, because the only clauses in there that prevented you from receiving any money were divorce or infidelity on your part.”
I can’t stop the eye roll. Of course, there was something about my cheating because Blake knew he wouldn’t have been able to abide by that part of the agreement if it had been both of us.
Vernon looks at me over the top of his glasses. “There isn’t anything about murder, so you should be good. Well, except for his life insurance policy. They probably won’t pay until the cops completely clear you. And even then, they might push back.”
“I told you, I don’t care about that.”
Vernon appears to be in pain. “You don’t care about getting the money from that?”
Even with Blake gone, this makes me nervous to admit to Vernon. “I’ve been saving almost every penny I’ve made since we moved to Nashville. I don’t need Blake’s money. I just need to know about things like the house and cars, so I can figure out what to do with them.”
The pinched expression he levels me with has me confused.
“Vern, just spit it out, please.”
He takes off his glasses and rests his clasped hands on his desk. “So he never talked to you about your finances?”
His question throws me off even more. Vernon already admitted to knowing Blake didn’t tell me important information. “No, Vernon. They were his finances. They certainly were not mine.”
He sighs. “Blake made some very poor financial decisions over the last few years.”
For some reason, I’m not surprised by that news, but it does make me disappointed that Blake would be so careless. His business partner, Bob, is passionate and driven, and all I can hope is that Blake’s poor decisions don’t impact him. “Okay, what does that mean exactly?”
“He was broke.”
My eyes widen as I shake my head in disbelief. “How broke?”
His eyes turn to slits as he clarifies, “If you want to keep anything, like the house, you’d better be prepared to pay a lot of money to do that. I don’t think he’s been making all the payments.”
I lift my hand in confusion. “How did that even happen, Vern?”
Shaking his head, Vernon leans forward more. “Lily, I tried to tell him he was being an idiot. But you know Blake. He was stubborn as shit.”
“Did he have any money left?” I meant what I said about not wanting Blake’s money, but I need to know.
Vernon’s eyes soften, and I think maybe I haven’t given him enough credit over the years for being a decent human being. I just lumped him into a category with Blake and didn’t bother to know if he really was.
“Maybe twenty-five thousand.”
I’m shocked by that amount. Our house alone is worth almost seven million, last I checked. Blake was an asshole to me, but he always seemed like a very shrewd businessman. Why would he ever do something so stupid that would have him lose that much money?
But then again, did I ever really know my husband? It wasn’t like we would spend hours talking and catching up about our lives. Especially in the last few years, we barely spoke to each other at all, except when we were fighting.
Needing to get out of this office, I ask, “Is there any paperwork I need to do to settle anything on his estate? I don’t really know how all this works.”
Vernon nods. “Yes, I can start work on getting everything squared away. I’ll let you know when it’s ready for you to sign.”
I thank him and walk out of the office after he promises to call me soon with an update. The slight high I was experiencing this morning is starting to crash hard, and I feel numb and exhausted.
I order another ride, and when it arrives, I get into the backseat. As we pull out of the parking lot, I stare out the window, feeling more confused and somehow lonelier, like the fact that I knew my husband even less than I thought I did makes me even more alone. I need someone to confide in.
Someone I can trust.
And there’s only one person I can think of right now.
The moment I’m back in my hotel room, I steel my resolve, grimacing as I tap the number, bring the phone to my ear, and listen to it ring.
A deep voice that resonates in my core comes through the line. “Lily, is everything okay?”