The Prince's Bride (Part 1) - J.J. McAvoy Page 0,8
and I punched back. It’s not my fault she couldn’t take it,” she uttered gently, crossing her arms over her chest.
I looked away because, apparently, she needed a minute to get off her high horse. So, I faced Mr. Greensboro, who sat calmly, looking over the documents in front of him. He had handled her divorce, so I was sure he was used to her by now.
“Mr. Greensboro?”
“Yes, Ms. Wyntor?”
“I know you can’t stop rumors. But if there are any videos or audio about what happened here today, we will sue and do so with a new firm.”
“Relax, Odette. Charles is—”
“Mom, you’ve done enough!” I held my hand out to stop her. Luckily, she didn’t say anything back.
“Don’t worry, Ms. Wyntor. I had all cell phones confiscated on this level for the duration of this meeting, and should anyone try anything, we will personally deal with it harshly,” he reassured me.
I checked the doors to see no one standing or even daring to look inside. Nodding, I sat down at the head of the table beside my mother. “Okay, so what happened in the few minutes I was gone? What led to their fight?”
“She was—”
“Mom, say one more thing, and I will give it all up!” I threatened, and Mr. Greensboro’s face paled worse than hers. I offered a smile. “Well, sir?”
“They brought proof of your father’s conditions to the inheritance. It’s iron tight. I’m guessing it’s a second draft he created before his untimely death. But it is newer than the will we were aware of.”
“Are you sure it is real?”
“Yes. Everything is the same, but with conditions, and it has the same signature, which we verified, as well as his personal assistant’s.”
I took a breath. “Okay, so what are these conditions?”
“Marriage.”
“Say what?”
“You need to be married and have a child.”
I felt something. Maybe it was the earth rattling under my feet. Maybe it was my soul leaving my body. But I definitely felt something. “Are you serious?” I couldn’t believe it.
“And this is why I told you to stop telling him you didn’t want to get married,” my mother grumbled. “He was always going on about continuing the Wyntor legacy. You thought I was being harsh, but he never said anything to you. Apparently, he was always planning on getting the last laugh.”
That was what it was.
That feeling I felt.
It was my father laughing at me from beyond the grave.
Chapter 3
“The assets totaling fifty-one point eight billion dollars will be divided equally between Odette Rochelle Wyntor and Augusta Pearl Wyntor, for a total of twenty-five point nine billion each. Of which, the first one-third of their inheritance will be received upon their marriages to a person of respectable integrity, morality, and standing, lasting more than one year. After the first three years of said marriage, they shall receive the second third of their inheritance. And the last third shall be given upon the birth of their first child—”
“No matter how many times you read it, Odette, it’s not going to change,” my mother called out from her bathroom.
I couldn’t believe it. The more I read it, the more I shook. “He can’t do this!” I hollered across her room, waving the paper above my head like a crazy woman. “It’s chauvinistic! It’s archaic! It’s wrong!”
“It’s his money, Odette. He can make the rules for whoever gets it,” she said, coming back out with a facial mask all over her.
“I know, but these are dumb rules. He should be the last person to advocate marriage. I mean...ugh. I’m so angry! How could he do this?” I lifted the paper back up to my face. “And what does ‘a person of respectable integrity, morality, and standing’ mean.”
“It means, don’t go marry a hobo off the street to get the money,” she clarified, moving to sit at her vanity.
“I get what it means! What I don’t get is who the hell is going to decide what a ‘person of respectable integrity, morality, and standing’ is?” And listen to this. Dad must have had a ball coming up with is part. ‘Should either daughter fail to marry, the assets totaling fifty-one point eight billion dollars will be divided. The first half shall be given to the Marvin Wyntor Global Foundation, and the second reinvested in Etheus.’ He’s threatening us!”
“You have to love your father. He said his money was either going back to him or going back to his company, which is also him.” Wilhelmina snickered before rubbing cream onto her neck.