Then the storm had begun.
“Not even the lawsuit?” Michael asked.
She shook her head. “I didn’t think it would be a problem. I knew Junior was angry, but George changed his will. We were married for three years. Legally Junior shouldn’t have had a leg to stand on, and I honestly believed he would back down.”
“You had to know his son would be upset the estate was left to you.”
She bit back a groan of frustration. “But it wasn’t. That’s the mistake people make. The tabloids make it sound like I was trying to take the whole estate. That’s not how the will was written. I was to be given five percent of George’s estate plus the house and my personal property. That does not include the businesses or the property owned by the estate outside of the house. It was five percent, Michael. I know five percent of a billion dollars is a lot of money, but Junior wouldn’t have missed it.”
His brows had come together in obvious surprise. “I thought it was the whole estate.”
She shook her head. “Of course not. I would never have agreed to that. I only agreed to the money George insisted on because of what I want to do with it. I’ve spent years setting up the Lara Benedict Foundation. It will give grants to researchers and groups studying addiction and new ways to help those who suffer from them. There have been a lot of studies showing the way we treat addicts in this country is hurting their survival rate. I want to see if I can make a difference. It’s what George wanted me to do. I’ve spent everything I personally had fighting for the right to do it.”
He was quiet for a moment. “That is certainly not the story I’ve heard. Why don’t you tell it?”
“You think I haven’t tried? The reporters who would take the situation seriously don’t take me seriously. And the tabloids have zero interest in painting me as anything but a gold digger trying to take every dime I can.”
“You have plans for this foundation? Why didn’t he set it up before he died?” Michael asked.
There was a lot they could have done to work around this situation, but she’d wanted the end of George’s life to be about joy and not lawyers. She’d spent all those months traveling and visiting with his old friends. Watching him say good-bye. “We should have, though I worry even if we had Junior would have thrown me out of it and quietly shut it down. He hates me.”
“Because you married his dad?”
She sighed, weary because even talking about Junior made her tired. “A lot of reasons. He hates being embarrassed. He didn’t even go to his sister’s funeral. He said she was a junkie and she deserved what she got. He hated his dad for marrying me and embarrassing the family. Of course he really hated me because I wouldn’t sleep with him.”
“What?” Michael’s eyes narrowed.
“Oh, yeah. After George died, he offered to let me have the money if I slept with him. He was lying. He wouldn’t have called off the lawsuit for anything, but he gave it a try,” she admitted. “He’s a man who paid a doctor to lie about his father’s mental faculties. He’ll do anything. I have to wonder if he didn’t send someone to kill me today. It honestly wouldn’t shock me.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you. I’m sorry I didn’t understand what was going on. I’ll be honest. I read a couple of the stories, and I thought I was informed.” He moved closer to her. “Has he threatened to hurt you before this?”
“The usual legal threats. Nothing physical. He’s an asshole, but I wouldn’t have thought he would be violent. Especially since he’s winning. Unless I can prove the doctor is lying, I’ll probably lose on appeal. I won’t be able to go further. The only thing he saves by killing me is some legal fees, and he could get into real trouble. If I die, I’m suddenly interesting as a sympathetic figure.”
“I’ll look into it. I told you about my friend Deke. He’s an investigator where I work. He’s good at what he does. He’s going to try to get those security tapes so we can figure out who the man who attacked you is.”
She shook her head. Maybe the police had been right. They’d pointed out that her Chanel bag would likely make her a target, and there had been several muggings in the area. She’d managed to keep two of her expensive bags. The Chanel was five years old, but it was a classic. “You don’t have to do that. Michael, I really am broke. Everything I have is going to the appeal.”
“I want to help you,” he insisted. “Look, if the contract is bothering you, then we can tear it up, and we’ll be nothing more than friends. But everything you’ve told me makes me want to help you more.”