“Clara, don’t be ridiculous.”
“What did you find out?”
She became quiet.
Then she hung up.
Less than an hour later, someone knocked on my door.
It was not Lila.
It was the family lawyer.
Mr. Bennett stood on my porch holding a leather briefcase.
“I apologize for arriving without an appointment,” he said. “May I come inside?”
I let him in.
He sat at my kitchen table and looked unusually serious.
“Your sister contacted me yesterday.”
“I assumed she had.”
“She asked several questions about your grandmother’s estate.”
I poured him coffee, though neither of us drank it.
“What does that have to do with the shawl?”
Mr. Bennett opened his briefcase and removed a thick folder.
“Your grandmother established a private trust shortly before her death.”
I stared at him.
“I thought her estate was settled years ago.”
“Her public estate was.”
He placed a document on the table.
“This was separate.”
According to the paperwork, my grandmother had hidden a significant portion of her wealth through private investments, offshore accounts, and a trust managed by an independent firm.
The total value was more money than I could understand.
Properties.
Bonds.
