down ideas. She was the creative, imaginative, and somewhat irresponsible one, who they all got annoyed with, because she wasn't like any of them.
"Well?" her father snapped.
"What?" she asked, realizing she'd lost track of the conversation.
More thunderous and incredulous anger entered his gaze. "Seriously? You're not even listening?"
"I don't know why you're so upset. What are you afraid I'm going to find?"
He gave her a hard look. "The truth."
A shiver ran down her spine. "Why would that be bad?"
"Because it can't possibly be good. I don't know if my mother died of a drug overdose or was involved with someone who killed her with those drugs, but neither scenario will make anyone feel better."
"Maybe she wasn't involved with that person. Maybe she was just a victim. And whoever killed her has gotten away with it."
"He's probably dead by now. It was a long time ago."
"Or not," she countered. "If I can raise enough doubt, if I can put together a movie that gets public attention, maybe the police will reopen the investigation. Perhaps new witnesses will come forward, no longer afraid after so much time has passed. With a spotlight back on Grandma, someone might remember something that they didn't think was important at the time."
"This isn't about a new investigation. This is about you wanting to exploit your grandmother's death for your own selfish purposes."
She flinched at his hard words. "That really isn't it."
"You're going to deny that you don't think this movie will make your career?"
"Well, no. I think it could be a big break for me. But I also want to tell her story, because it needs to be told with an ending that makes sense. And I want to do it for Grandpa." She paused. "Why do you hate her so much?"
He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "You know why. She was a terrible mother. She abandoned me and my father for her career. She left us long before she was killed. And the woman who replaced her was amazing. Linda became the mother I never had."
"She was a sweet person," she agreed. "And that's why Grandpa didn't want to look into this until she passed. He didn't want her to feel like he was still hung up on Natasha."
"She was definitely his blind spot. He couldn't see straight when she was around. He probably never would have let her go, if she hadn't cheated on him, hadn't forced him to realize she didn't love him anymore."
"Even if she stopped loving Grandpa, I don't think she stopped loving you. The way she talked about you in her journals—"
He held up a hand. "I don't want to hear about her journals. I don't care what she wrote down. I lived my life with her. I know what it was like, how she acted, who she was. So, what's it going to take for you to stop? How about I invest in a different project for you, one that you can write, produce, direct, whatever you want? I'll fund it completely, as long as the subject isn't my mother."
"You're trying to buy me off?" she asked in shock.
"I want you to have your break. I just don't want to see my mother's life on the screen. It will start everything up again—all the questions, the rumors, and the scandalous secrets. I run a company that's built on my stellar reputation."
"I don't think Natasha's past will hurt your reputation. You were a teenager when she died."
"I'll write you a check tonight, seed money to get started on another idea." He walked around his desk to find his checkbook.
She couldn't believe what he was doing. She would have been thrilled to have him believe in her enough to want to invest in a project, but not like this, not because he wanted to shut her down.
"No, Dad. I'm not going to take your money, and I won't walk away from this story. I promised Grandpa that I'd find the truth."
"He had no right to ask you to make that promise."
"Maybe not, but he did, and once I started reading Natasha's journals, I got caught up in her life. She had a lot of secrets. Maybe no one really knew her. She talks a lot about wearing a mask, about how much easier it is to be an actress, to play a part, than to be herself. She talks about her childhood in Russia, how poor they were, how much they struggled, how she never thought she'd get