The InheritanceChapter 2

Richard walked in at seven on the dot. He handed his suit jacket to the housekeeper, loosening his tie. "Claire? What's this about? You look... serious."

I didn't say a word. I just handed him my phone.

His face darkened as he watched. Richard is a traditional man. He cares about legacy. He cares about appearances.

Last time, he was just as angry as I was. But he'd let me be the "bad cop." He’d played the sympathetic father, telling Chloe, "I'm trying, sweetheart, but your mother is... she's just so upset. My hands are tied."

So, in the end, I was the only villain.

"This is... a disgrace!" he finally boomed. "She's dragged our name through the mud! I'll call security, have them drag her home!"

"And do what?" I asked, my voice quiet.

He stared at me. "Do what? We take her to the clinic! We can't let her... let her keep this... thing."

"Why not?" I met his gaze. "She's twenty. She's an adult. She has the right to make her own choices. We, as parents, should respect that."

Richard looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "Claire, are you in shock? What about her life? What about the company?"

"It's her life. She wants to ruin it, that's her choice. As for the company," I gave a small, cold laugh, "as long as our stock price is high, do you really think anyone on the board cares if our granddaughter is a bastard?"

I stood up, walking over to him. "Richard. We've done enough. I'm done with her. She wants the baby? Fine. She can have it. But two things are not negotiable."

He was so thrown by my calm, he just nodded. "What things?"

"One: The education trust. It's a million dollars. It's for Columbia. It is not a 'having a baby' fund. She chooses the baby, the trust dissolves. Two: We cut her off. Completely. She wants to be an adult, she can pay her own bills."

"Claire..." he hesitated. "She's... she's just a kid. That Leo... he's a bum. How will they live?"

"That," I said, "is her problem. Not ours."

I thought of the cold marble floor. The pain.

"But if you feel sorry for her," I continued, "if you slip her so much as a dollar, I will file for divorce, I will initiate a full division of our assets, and I will be gone. It's Chloe... or me. Choose."

He looked at me, really looked at me, for the first time in years. He saw I wasn't bluffing.

"Okay, Claire," he said, all the fight gone. "Okay. We do it your way."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

The housekeeper let them in. Chloe, her belly pushed out, holding Leo's hand like he was a prince.