Chapter 3
On the deed, my name, Isabel Walter, was listed as the owner, clear as day.
This was property I bought before I got married, using my parents' inheritance.
Joanna froze for a moment, then snatched the deed from my hands, looking at it. Her face screamed disbelief.
"No way. Brad told me he bought this house," she yelled.
"Just because he said he did, does that make it true?" I scoffed. "Brad simply lived in my house for ten years. That's all."
"You... you bitch! You schemed against Brad." Joanna shook with rage, raising her hand to tear up the deed.
I was quicker. I snatched it back and, in one swift motion, slapped her right across the face.
The slap rang out, sharp and clear.
Everyone was stunned, even the two movers.
Joanna clutched her cheek, staring at me in disbelief. "How dare you hit me?"
"What about it?" I stepped closer, locking eyes with her. "Joanna, for ten years, you've been mooching off me and ordering me around every day. Did you really think I'd be a pushover forever?
"Let me make this clear. From today on, I'm in charge here. Get your people and get the hell out, right now. Otherwise, I'll call the cops and have you arrested for trespassing."
The way I stood up to her was so fierce, Joanna staggered back in fright.
Alan kept his head. He grabbed Joanna, who was about to make a scene, and said to me with a serious face, "Isabel, Brad just died. We simply want to get some of his stuff back."
"His stuff?" I looked around the living room. "All of this? I paid for everything. Not a single thing here is his. The only thing that belonged to him was himself. Oh, and that transfer agreement he signed."
When I brought up the transfer agreement, Alan's face turned sour.
He knew that agreement meant he and Joanna wouldn't get a single cent.
All of Brad's money was left to his nine-year-old grandson, Chase.
And Wendy was the guardian of that grandson.
"Isabel, we're Brad's parents after all. You can't be so heartless." Alan tried to play the emotional card.
"Heartless?" I laughed. "When Brad divorced me with nothing to my name, did any of you call him heartless? Now that he's gone, you suddenly remember me? Too late."
I pointed at the door and gave them the boot. "Get lost."
Alan and Joanna's faces turned ashen, and they slunk out of the house, tails between their legs.
The living room fell silent again.
I walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window. The sun was still shining outside, but I felt nothing but cold inside.
My phone rang. It was an unknown number.
I picked up.
The voice said, "Ms. Walter? This is Garrett Clifton, Brad's attorney. He asked me before he passed to handle the reading of his will. I wanted to see when you'd be available to meet."
I stared out the window and said calmly, "Come to my place tomorrow at ten."
What was coming would come.
Brad, did you really think your death would end this game?
No, it's only just begun.
*****
The next morning at ten, Garrett showed up right on time at my door.
With him were Wendy, Alan, Joanna, and Eloise.
They were all dressed to the nines, as if they were here to collect an award instead of attending the reading of a will.
Wendy, especially, wore a perfectly measured sadness on her face, but the triumph in her eyes was impossible to hide.
I showed them into the living room and took my place in the armchair at the head of the room.
Garrett opened his briefcase and took out some papers.
He said, "Everyone, I'm here to read the will Brad Springer left behind to you all."
He cleared his throat and began, "I, Brad Springer, of sound mind and acting of my own free will, bequeath all my assets, including but not limited to fifty percent of the shares in Gravase Group, three properties, and all funds in my bank accounts, to my son, Chase Springer..."
The will was long. Garrett read it for a full ten minutes.
It was pretty much the same as the transfer agreement I'd seen yesterday. Every last thing he owned went to Chase.
He left his parents only 60 thousand dollars as a token pension.
As for me, his wife of ten years, there was not a single word about me in the will.
As soon as Garrett finished reading, Wendy turned on the waterworks, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue and putting on her best act.
"Brad, you were so wonderful to me and Chase. Don't worry, I'll make sure Chase grows up and carries on your legacy," she said.
Joanna and Alan's faces turned ashen, dark with shock and anger.
They never imagined that after all their years raising him, all Brad cared about was his mistress and illegitimate son, and left his own parents out in the cold.