“Yes. You know she and I were always close. I warned her about the problem. Originally your father was the executor, but Aunt Nadine got your grandmother to change it.” She sighed. “Aunt Nadine forced your father into a recovery center to receive any funds from the trust.”
“Shit, so that’s why Dad was in recovery. I thought it was for alcoholism.” I vaguely remembered visiting him at the recovery center. But now he was still drinking. Was he still using porn? I doubted Karen would allow something like that.
“Wren, when I divorced your father, we lost everything. I had to file bankruptcy to remove the debt he’d racked up, and the house went into foreclosure.” She huffed. “He tried to ruin me.”
Pain sliced through my chest. “Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I remember you taking me to the dollar store to get toys if my grades were good. Before the divorce, we’d go to Target.” And we’d moved into a cheap apartment. It was like my entire life had changed overnight, but I hadn’t dared to question it. Hell, I’d buried everything for so long, it was like I’d forgotten that part of my life.
“Yes, well, it’s all I could afford. We were on nutrition assistance, and you got free meals at school. Do you remember going to the food bank?”
“Yeah…” Fuck, it all came rushing back. “I was happy about it because all the baked goods were free, and I could have all I wanted.” I chuckled. “But you only let me pick one.” How the hell had she gone from that to owning a successful brokerage? She was one hell of a strong woman. Goddamn, she was amazing. I’d never realized how much.
“So, now you know the entire story,” she said. “Tell me what spurred this.”
“I don’t trust Dad. I think he’s hiding something from me.” After twisting my lips, I said, “I think it’s something to do with finances.” I couldn’t put my finger on it. Why, if I were involved in this trust, wouldn’t he ever discuss it with me?
“Well, shit.” She tutted. “I didn’t want to say anything, but we don’t trust his new wife, Karen.”
“We?” Karen had been standoffish at dinner, but then that was typical. “Has she been keeping Dad from me?” He hadn’t met her until he’d moved to California to help my grandmother, who’d had cancer, which eventually killed her. And here I’d always wondered if it was my coming out to him that caused our distance.
“I think so. Aunt Nadine knows her much better than I do, and they don’t get along.” Mom exhaled loudly. “She says Karen is always trying to get your father to buy things with the trust for them.”
“Like a mansion in Scottsdale.” The puzzle pieces clicked in my head. “Dad said Karen’s family are land developers and so they purchased their new house at a good price. I’ll bet that was the leverage they used with Aunt Nadine.” And why Dad hadn’t wanted to discuss it. They could use it to take money from the trust and my inheritance and give it to Karen if they paid for their new house in cash. Of course, they were married, and they’d both be on the deed. “Mom, can you check their new house in the MLS and tell me if it’s listed in both of their names?”
“Sure, but I doubt your Aunt Nadine would allow such a thing.” She tutted. “What are you driving at?”
“It might offer Karen a method of getting funds held in the trust. She has Dad buy property and puts both their names on the deeds, and if something happens to him, it reverts to her.” I clenched my jaw. “She’s a lot younger than he is, you know.” Not that I cared so much about the money, but it was the principle that bothered me. The trust was from my grandparents, intended to stay in the family. If it ever came to me, I’d be sure and share it with Mom. She deserved it after what Dad had done to her.
“Wren, that’s…that’s sort of evil.”
“Yeah, well, I guess if they end up buying more properties,we’ll know what’s going on.” I swallowed hard. Wouldn’t Dad understand the consequences of his actions? If he did, why would he agree to it? Pain lodged in my heart. It felt like I was being abandoned all over again. Fuck. “Can you, uh, check all of this? Find out what Aunt Nadine knows and check the deeds on all his properties.” Maybe he had sold the California house and was lying? “I don’t trust him.”
“Yes, I’ll check and get back to you. Something sounds fishy here.” She sighed. “But Wren, let’s give your father the benefit of the doubt, okay?”
Hell no. “Sure.” As I chewed my lower lip, my gaze caught a shadow outside the window.
Grace strolled along the walkway, her keys dangling from her hand and backpack slung over a shoulder.
“Uh, Grace is home. I’ll talk to you later.” I’d keep this all to myself until I knew more. “Love you, Mom. Bye.”
“Bye, honey, and love you too.” The call ended.
Grace stepped inside the apartment. “Hey, Wren. Who were you talking to? Eli?” She gave me a wry grin.
“Nope, my mom.” I gave her my best smile, but my heart wasn’t in it. “Are you home for the night?”
“Yep.” Blowing a breath, she dropped her backpack on the dinette. “And have a shit ton of homework to get through.”
Later that evening,I reread the same sentence for the hundredth time in my textbook while sitting on my bed. When would I hear from Mom? I could hardly concentrate since our phone call, and if I’d hung around Grace in the main room, I’d surely have told her what was going on. I couldn’t help myself.
My phone rang next to me on the bed, and I startled. “Oh, fuck.” It was Mom. Holding a hand over my pounding heart, I answered it and set the phone on speaker. “Mom?” Today I’d spoken to her more in one day than I had since high school.
“Hi, Wren. I have some, uh, interesting news.” Her voice was gruff. “Your father still owns the house in California—well, the trust does, so it’s safe.”
“Okay.” Something was off. I could hear it in her voice. I gripped my textbook tightly. “What else?”
“I called your Aunt Nadine today, and she told me she gave your father money from the trust for the Scottsdale home, but he talked her into letting him put the deed in both their names, since Karen’s family sold the home to them at a price lower than the appraised value and she’s pregnant with his child.”
I nodded as if she could see me. I didn’t want to say a word until she finished.
