“No.” The older man’s gaze was fixed on hers. “There actually is another heir. Someone neither Ric nor this lawyer knew existed.”
“What? Are you telling me Ric had another child?”
“Not Ric. His father. Fred Senior has another child. A daughter, in fact.”
For a moment she was too stunned to speak. “Are you sure? I mean, how is this possible? And how do you know about this secret daughter?”
Andy stared down at his hands. When he looked up, his expression was somber. “Twenty-one years ago, Fred came to me and swore me to secrecy. Then he confessed that he’d fathered a child with a young woman. He claimed it was an accident, a one-time thing, and that the woman, whom he termed ‘a little gold-digger,’deliberately got pregnant in order to trap him into making her a financial settlement.”
“This is unbelievable,” Traci said. “Where is this daughter now?”
“I’ll get to that. Fred being Fred, he demanded the young woman provide proof that he was the father. The paternity tests confirmed her claim. Shortly after this daughter’s birth, Fred had me draw up a legal document. He agreed to pay for the young woman’s college education and to pay off the mortgage on the mother’s home. In addition, there was a one-time fifty-thousand-dollar settlement, which was to be used for the child’s maintenance. In return, the young woman had to sign a nondisclosure agreement.”
“And he never saw his own daughter?”
“Not to my knowledge,” Plankenhorn said. “I didn’t meet the mother myself, until she came to my office to sign the paperwork, which is when she told me her side of the story. She was young and naïve. I’ve always felt badly that she didn’t have adequate legal counsel, but I told myself that I had a fiduciary responsibility to my client. Going along with Fred, being a party to that shameful act, remains the biggest regret of my legal career.”
Traci looked the older man squarely in the face. “And yet, you remained friends. And stayed on as the family’s attorney.”
“I kept doing business with him, yes. But the friendship ended. When I told Georgia what Fred had done, not naming names, of course, she was furious—gave me a tongue-lashing and said she never wanted to see him again. Helen was incredibly hurt. She and Georgia had been dear friends.”
Traci got up and paced around the dining room. “Are you going to tell me who the young woman is? And the identity of her daughter?”
“I’m going to let her tell you herself. She’s waiting, out in my car.”
He picked up his phone and tapped a number on his contact list. “It’s time,” he said.
CHAPTER 59
The front door opened, and she heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway. Traci stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the woman standing there.
“Shannon?”
Her oldest friend was looking up at the high, wood-beamed ceiling, down at the black-and-white-checkerboard tile floor, running her hands across the rough-troweled plaster walls.
Finally, she turned to Traci. Her pale blue eyes were red-rimmed.
“Hey,” she said.
“I can’t believe this,” Traci said, trying not to stare.
“It’s true.”
“Olivia? Fred was her father?”
“Afraid so.”
“I don’t know what to say. All these years. And you never, ever hinted.”
Shannon bit her lower lip. “Now you know why. He made me sign that NDA.”
Traci hesitated, then reached out and touched Shannon’s hand. This time she didn’t pull away. “Come in. Please?”
“Yeah. I guess it’s time, huh?”
When they arrived in the dining room they found Andy Plankenhorn had packed up his briefcase. “I think I’ll leave you two ladies now. I promised Georgia I’d meet her and the grandkids at the pool.I’m sure you’ll have more questions for me, but this is a start.” He nodded at Shannon. “Call me when you’re ready to leave, and I’ll pick you up.”
“No need,” Traci said quickly. “I can give her a ride.”
