บททั้งหมดของ The Inheritance Clause: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

The letter arrived on a Tuesday, which Elena would later think was fitting. Tuesdays were the kind of day when your life could implode and nobody would notice because everyone wanted Friday to arrive.She found it wedged between a past-due electric bill and a credit card offer when she got home from Millbrook High, her canvas bag still heavy with ungraded still life paintings that her junior class had turned in. The bag contained twenty-seven paintings depicting fruit bowls. Twenty-seven different ways to make apples look depressing.The envelope was a light cream color. Heavy paper. The kind of paper that cost more than what she could buy with her weekly grocery money. *Ms. Elena Castellano* was written in real calligraphy on the front, not the kind that was printed to look like it was done by hand. Someone had paid a person to write her name. Elena put it on the kitchen counter of her flat, which was really just a bedroom over the hardware store, and went to change out of her pain

"Give me one letter," she said. "One letter, and I'll consider your offer.""Consider? I need a yes or no.""You need me to agree, which means you need to give me a reason beyond threats and money." She crossed her arms. "One letter. That's my counteroffer."Dominic studied her for a long moment. Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. Old. Yellowed. Her name was written across the front in handwriting she didn't recognize."He wrote this note on your eighteenth birthday," Dominic said. "It's the last one."Elena took it with shaking hands."Read it tonight," Dominic said. "I'll come by your hotel tomorrow at nine.""I don't have a hotel."He pulled out his phone, typed something, and showed her the screen. The screen displayed a confirmation number for the Ashford Grand Manhattan hotel. Junior suite."Yes, you do.""I can't afford—""It's a congratulations; you own the hotel." He headed for the door, then paused. "And Elena? Your mother's mortgage payment is due n

For the following two hours, they looked over financial data, property valuations, and plans for growth. Elena got maybe 20% of it. But she saw Dominic work. She saw how he ran the room, how he turned every problem into an opportunity, and how he kept her safe without letting her know. By the time they broke for lunch, her head was spinning.Dominic found her in a small office, staring out the window at the city below."You did well," he said."I didn't do anything.""You didn't run. That's something."Elena turned to face him. "Your father really hates me.""My father hates everyone. Don't take it personally.""He's going to make this hell, isn't he?""Probably." Dominic moved closer. "But we're not going to let him win.""We.""For now." He checked his watch. "We have a two o'clock with the wedding planner.""Wedding planner? Already?""We have twenty-seven days left. That's not a lot of time to plan a society wedding.""I thought we were keeping it small."Dominic laughed. Actual

The car arrived at exactly eight o'clock. Elena noticed Dominic hadn't pushed back. Small victory. She'd expected the driver to take her to the Ashford headquarters. Instead, they headed to LaGuardia. "Where are we going?" she asked when Dominic met her at a private terminal. "Detroit." He handed her a coffee-black, no sugar, exactly how she took it. She made an effort to ignore the fact that he had remembered her coffee preference. "We have a property there that's bleeding money. Board wants to close it. You said you wanted autonomy over your investments. Time to learn what that actually means." The private jet was obscene. The seats were made of leather and could recline into beds. A flight attendant offered her champagne at nine in the morning. Dominic settled into a seat with his laptop, already working. Elena sat across from him. "You're testing me." "I'm educating you. There's

Elena caught the next bus to Vermont. The journey across rural highways for three hours was filled with mounting dread. By the time she reached Millbrook, the sun was setting, painting the mountains in shades of fire. Her mother's house looked the same as always—small and neat, with the garden still fighting against autumn. But there was a black sedan in the driveway that didn't belong. Elena found Rosa in the kitchen with a man in an expensive suit. He stood when Elena entered, extending a hand. "Ms. Castellano, Marcus Whitfield. I believe we met at the board meeting this morning." "Get out of my mother's house." "I'm just conducting a routine investigation—" "Into what? My mother works at a hospital. She's never had anything to do with the Ashford family." "Except she had an affair with Marcus Ashford and concealed his daugh