Nobody greeted me.
I sat alone at the end of the table.
For one shameful moment, the old part of me woke up.
The house.
The accounts.
The will.
I hated myself for it, but grief does not immediately kill greed. Sometimes it exposes the pieces that are still rotten.
Mr. Alden opened a folder.
He read calmly.
The house was left to Caroline.
Most of Evelyn’s money was divided between a children’s hospital, the animal shelter where she had adopted Jasper, and a scholarship fund for adults returning to trade school.
Her jewelry went to Caroline’s daughters.
Her books to the library.
Her china to Mrs. Alvarez.
I received nothing.
The room went still.
One cousin made a small satisfied sound.
Caroline looked at me for the first time, waiting for anger.
I looked down at my hands.
There it was.
The punishment I deserved.
I had married Evelyn for security, and in the end, she had denied me all of it.
