Chapter 1

My husband, Thomas Lewis, had late-stage pancreatic cancer, so he made a will splitting his assets equally among his children.

I agreed without hesitation. We'd been married fifteen years and had one daughter, Emily.

But "children" also meant the bastard son he'd fathered with his mistress, Jessica Stone.

The moment Thomas died, I took back the house and car he'd given Jessica and her son, and I froze her bank accounts.

Thomas' father, Jack, showed up at my door with Jessica and the boy, ready for war.

I stared at them and smiled. Thomas said his assets would go to his children, but he never said anything about leaving them to his brother.

*****

Thomas was young when pancreatic cancer killed him, and he died quickly.

Before he died, he worried about his illegitimate son, Ben, having nowhere to go, so he wrote a will.

He left everything to his children, and his parents, Jack and Amanda, got nothing. I got nothing either.

They all thought I'd fight it. Why would I? I was thrilled.

Jack and Amanda were happy, as were Jessica and Ben.

After Thomas died, we sat down together to plan his funeral.

I wasn't going to help. He cheated on me, so why would I give him a fancy funeral?

Jack and Amanda wanted to save money for their precious grandson, so they refused to spend much either.

Jessica hesitated and said, "Jack, Amanda, I don't have a job and Ben's so little. We'll need money for everything, so—"

Jack and Amanda immediately agreed that their living grandson mattered more than their dead son.

We all agreed to skip the funeral and burial plot and just take him straight to the crematorium. A few hours later, Thomas was nothing but ashes.

We didn't buy an urn. We put the ashes in a plastic bag, scattered them in the river, and that was that.

Amanda sobbed her heart out, but everyone else went home happy.

Jessica showed up with Jack, Amanda, and a lawyer, eager to transfer the property. They wanted me to cooperate with all the paperwork.

I dragged my feet and refused to help.

Jessica finally lost her patience and showed up at my door with the baby and Jack and Amanda, ready to make a scene.

I acted shocked. "Didn't Thomas say he was leaving everything to his children? So the house and car belong to my daughter!"

"Bullshit! What about Ben?" Amanda rushed at me, screaming. "Ben is Thomas' son too! He gets a share, and you're trying to steal it all!"

"Even if you wanna keep everything for yourself, we're not scared. I've got my son's will right here!" Jack's voice rose with righteous indignation. "Hand over Ben's share now, or we're calling the cops!"

"Helen, I know I wronged you, but Ben is Thomas' son too—and he's the only male heir the Lewis family has." Jessica's voice broke as tears streamed down her face. "You agreed Ben should get his share. How can you go back on your word the second Thomas dies? You're trying to destroy us. You'll kill us both!"

"Oh, so just because you say so, it's true?" I shot back without hesitation. "What, if any random person shows up with a kid claiming it's Thomas', I'm supposed to accept it?"

Jessica pressed one hand to her mouth, her face the picture of shock. "Helen, what are you trying to say?"

"What am I trying to say? And don't act like we're friends. We're not on a first-name basis. You're the other woman," I snapped.

"How can you talk to me like that?!" Jessica finally lost it.

"Am I wrong? Tell me where I'm wrong," I said, all fake innocence. "Forget it. There's no point talking to you. I'm calling the cops!"

I rolled my eyes and made a show of cleaning out my ear with my pinky finger.

The police finally arrived and hauled all of us down to the station for mediation.

Jessica and Amanda wouldn't shut up, talking over each other and throwing accusations back and forth.

"Quiet!" The officer's voice cut through the chaos. "One at a time. What the hell happened here?"

I cleared my throat. "Officer, let me explain the situation. My husband just died." I pointed at Jessica. "And this woman is his mistress. Wait, what was your name again?"

Jessica's face turned bright red. "Jessica Stone," she mumbled.

"Right, Jessica. This is my late husband's mistress, Jessica." I repeated it slowly and clearly for everyone to hear.

Jessica's face went even redder.

The officers around us were clearly trying not to laugh as they looked her up and down.

I turned and gestured toward the older couple. "This is my husband's father, and this is my husband's mother, Jack and Amanda. And that baby Amanda's holding? According to Jessica here, that's my husband's illegitimate child with her."

"He's not illegitimate. He's my son and Thomas' son." Jessica shrieked at me. "You're insulting my child. I'm going to scratch your face off!"

She lunged toward me, but I quickly stepped behind the nearest officer. "I'm Thomas' actual wife, so yeah, your kid is illegitimate."

Jessica tried to come at me again, but the officers pushed her back into her seat.

"Before my husband died, he left a will. His half of our assets goes to his children." I kept my tone casual and detached.

"But here's the problem. There's no proof this baby is actually Thomas' child. So right now, my husband's estate goes entirely to me and our legitimate daughter."

The officer listened to my story, and his eyes filled with sympathy.

"What about my son?" Jessica jumped in. "Jack, Amanda, tell the officer Ben is your real grandson."

Jack immediately spoke up, "Officer, we can prove Ben is my son's biological child. Look at him. Doesn't he look like me? My son looks like me and Ben takes after his father."

Jack rambled on, but Amanda stayed silent.

"Jack, whether Ben is your grandson isn't determined by looks. It's determined by a DNA test," I said coldly.

"Enough." The officer cut in. "This is a police station and I understand your dispute. You need to take your evidence to court and settle this there."

He pointed at Jessica and the others. "And don't harass Ms. Grant anymore."

Jessica shrank back and kept quiet.

But Jack and Amanda spoke up, "We're not harassing anyone. We're visiting our granddaughter. What law says grandparents can't see their granddaughter?"

The officer was powerless to do anything about that. He lectured us briefly and prepared to let us leave.