Asher pulled something out of the safe. I recognized it; that was the briefcase he'd brought to Slicker Images when he'd first announced his plans for the mall.
“Dad always kept stuff he was working on in here. He's pretty disorganized, as you can see, so his briefcase is where he dumped the really important stuff.”
“Harder to lose that way, I guess.”
“Exactly.”
Asher lifted two golden latches, pressed a button near the handle, and case fell right open. Just as he had said, it was full of documents – and there, on the top of the stack, was the very one we needed.
“Oh my god,” Macy whispered. “The last will and testament of Charles Carrington. We found it.”
Without a word, we hunched over the will and began to read. Much of it was boring, irrelevant legal nonsense that had nothing to do with us and our plight. On the next page, though, was a section titled “Regarding the division of land in Montgomery County.”
“Ownership of all land is to be split evenly,” Asher read aloud, “between any and all of Mr. Carrington's children.”
A wave of disbelief came over me. So this was why Heath tried so vehemently to keep Asher and I apart?
“What?” Macy must have seen the dumbstruck looks on our faces. “I don't get it.”
“Ellen,” I said. “My aunt. She's your father's half-sister.”
“Which means half the land dad owns technically belongs to her,” Asher added.
This simple fact changed everything. I wasn't sure what I'd been expecting when we broke into the safe, but this?
“But there are very few people who know the truth. I mean, we don't even have any substantial proof she's Charles' daughter – except for the word of my grandma.”
Macy nodded. “And how would dad know about Ellen anyway? It's not like grandpa Charles would have admitted he cheated on our grandmother.”
Finding this puzzle piece had made more questions than it answered. Even so, Heath's motivations were now obvious.
Asher paced the room, hands clasped behind his back, his stare steely and all business. Once upon a time, I honestly thought he did nothing but party and goof off. Nice to know he could be serious, at least, when it mattered most.
Maybe one day, to someone, he'd actually make a pretty decent husband – if he could ever give up his player ways.
Yeah, not happening.
“Our parents really wanted me to get married and grow up, so dad put that fun little clause in the contract,” he said after collecting his thoughts. “But never expected I would pick you. At some point, he figured out you were Ellen's niece.”
“He probably thought if we got hitched, the truth would come out eventually.”
“And if that happened, he'd lose half the land he's owned for years. Land that's worth a ton of money,” Macy said. “Not to mention the scandal of it all. It's not just the affair Charles had. It's that he knew Ellen legally deserved half and kept quiet about it.”
“No wonder he tried siccing all those lawyers on me.” Asher laughed dryly. “Why he was willing to hand over a forty-percent stake in the Galleria. That's how desperate he was.”
We skimmed through the rest of Charles' will, but nothing more of interest popped out at us. Nobody spoke as we put the papers back into the safe.
This thing had gone beyond just Asher, me, and the stupid fake marriage. If the truth was revealed and Ellen proven to be his daughter, that land would be hers. Their family's money troubles would be forever over.
Lana could stay at the shop if she wanted, not forced to look for a better job or constantly worry the place might close down. They could afford to adopt Elias and bring him home.
I could keep Curiosities without fear of Heath's threats.
We'd be able to pay grandma's hospital bills off easily.
And I wouldn't have to marry Asher to do it. If he thought I wanted to marry him for money, that wouldn't be a problem anymore.
“You've got a funny look in your eye, Sarah.”
He'd come up behind me without me noticing, close enough that his body warmed mine. I ached for his hands on me. Knew it was stupid, but I couldn't help that.
Even so, I was disappointed when he kept a respectful distance away.
“I'm sure you understand why. This is a pretty big deal.”
He shrugged. “Without proof, there's nothing that can be done, right? And we promised Hazel we'd never tell anyone.”
“So I'm just supposed to pretend like I never saw that will? My aunt deserves what's rightfully hers.”
The more I thought about it, the madder I got. How dare Heath keep all that property to himself while Ellen and Lana struggled in near poverty?
Asher put a hand on my shoulder. If I weren't so upset, I would have enjoyed it.
“Just don't do anything you're going to regret. Lord knows I sure as hell have when I'm in a bad place.”
“Your father's an asshole.”
“Oh, I know.”
“Sure, I promised my grandma I'd keep her secret. But you have to admit, it'd be highly satisfying to expose this scam of his to everyone in town.”
Asher looked concerned. He was right to be. I'd never in my life been a vengeful sort, but right now I was thinking some very dark and nasty thoughts.
“You're not that kind of woman.”
“How would you know? You don't know anything about me.” The words spilled out before I could think to stop them. “All you ever wanted out of me was to get me in bed.”
He shrunk back as though I'd wounded him, but didn't deny what I said. That made it sting even more.
“If it weren't for that damn contract, I never would have gotten involved with you. Everybody knows the way you are.
