Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
“She was right,” I breathed, staring at the screen. “I do regret not being involved in Lellie’s life. I hate that I missed all these milestones.”
“Katie gave you a choice, even though you were really adamant about what you thought you wanted,” Kenji said pointedly.
“She did,” I agreed, and the knowledge made my heart squeeze with a bittersweet combination of gratitude and grief.
Kenji huffed out a breath like I was missing whatever point he was trying to make. “Dev…” Before he could say whatever it was he intended to say, Tully reappeared.
He glanced between Kenji and me. “Want me to sit in the back and give you some time?”
Kenji lifted an eyebrow at me, but I shook my head. “Sit,” I said. “Kenji just told me about an email account Katie sent messages to about Lellie. Did you know about this?”
I could tell from the frown lines this was the first he was hearing about it. “No. What kind of messages? Was she trying to get in touch with you?”
“No, no.” I explained how the account had come about and pointed at the screen with all the messages.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” he said with a soft smile. “She was very grateful to you for helping her.”
The guilt gnawed at me. “I owed her a favor. When I applied to college, she got her father and grandparents to write me recommendations, not only for admission but also for scholarships. And she’s the one who found scholarships for me to apply to. Without that, I never would have been able to go to Yale. Katie changed my life.”
I tried not to think about how that single decision had led to the death of my brother. It was impossible now to wish for things to have changed. If they had, Lellie might not have been conceived, and how could I ever wish for that?
“Do you want time to read through them?” Tully asked, nodding at the screen.
“Not now. I’m not…” I let out a huff of laughter. “I’m not feeling strong enough to go down that rabbit hole.”
I handed the tablet back to Kenji, knowing he would send me the credentials to take ownership of the email account.
After clearing my throat, I changed the subject slightly. “Did you schedule a meeting with the trusts and estate attorney about changing my will?” I asked Kenji. “I need to make sure Lellie is protected.”
“I can look over whatever they come up with,” Tully offered. “And you might want to continue using Katie’s wealth manager or find your own. Eleven million dollars would be a lot to handle by yourself.”
Kenji and I exchanged a look. “Uh… yeah,” I agreed. “Good call. Definitely someone will have to manage it.”
Tully narrowed his eyes and glanced between us. “What? What am I missing?”
I opened my mouth to tell him it was nothing when I caught another of Kenji’s judgmental looks.
I sighed. He was right. There was no good reason why I couldn’t admit the truth about Lellie’s trust fund. I’d gotten to a point after Matt’s death where I was afraid of my wealth and the damage it could cause, ashamed of the damage it had done. But I knew Tully wouldn’t feel that way. I wasn’t sure I felt that way myself anymore.
“I already have a wealth manager,” I admitted slowly. “Lellie’s trust fund came from me.”
Tully’s surprise was colored with confusion. “But I thought you didn’t know about Lellie.”
“I didn’t. But I knew there might be a baby, and I wanted to contribute to their financial security. That was one of the reasons I put Katie in touch with Kenji.”
Tully glanced at Kenji. “You arranged it?”
He nodded. “Dev instructed me to set up a trust for any child or children that resulted from the arrangement. Once Lellie was born, the money was transferred over.”
Tully was clearly shocked. “So… millions of dollars were transferred out of your account and into Lellie’s trust.”
Kenji and I both nodded.
“And you didn’t notice and say, ‘Ah, there must be a baby’?” he demanded, looking at me.
I shook my head.
“Holy shit.” Tully ran a hand through his styled hair. “You weren’t kidding when you said you had money.”
I felt Kenji’s eyes on me, so I shook my head as subtly as I could. “No, I wasn’t.”
I could tell Tully wanted to know more but was too polite to ask. Part of me wished I could explain that the source of my money and the sheer size of it were secrets that weren’t only mine to share. After Matt’s death, the brotherhood had agreed to put a lid on the wealth we’d made from selling the emergency traffic control system we’d developed in college. I’d put a lot of it into charitable trusts and endowments, but there was so much of it, the money I had left continued to grow at a rate I studiously ignored.