I need to do something before I go out of my mind.
Trying to snap out of my limbo, I head to the homeless shelter downtown where I volunteer a couple of times a month. They’re not expecting me today, but there’s always work to do: helping to prepare meals in the kitchens, or working in the office in back, organizing fund-raising drives.
“You mind if I pitch in?” I ask Loretta, who’s stuffing envelopes with letters asking for donations.
“Be my guest. We need all the help we can get.” She points me to a stack of empty envelopes. “The weather’s getting hotter, and you know how we’re already stretched to the limit here as it is.”
I start folding and stuffing. Summer in LA is brutal, and people on the streets don’t get to escape into the nice cool AC. I look around at the shabby offices and realize, if the Ashcroft money is really mine, then I could do more than just stuff envelopes. I could donate enough to buy another building; serve hundreds more meals. Think of how many people I could help -- and all without making a dent in the fortune.
Maybe this was why Ashcroft left me the money. We chatted about my volunteer work before. Maybe he knew I’d try and use it for good.
I’m a hundred envelopes down when my cell starts to ring. I snatch it up hopefully. Justine. I sigh. “Hey,” I answer.
“What’s up with you?”
“Nothing.” I try to sound more cheerful. “What’s going on?”
“Well...” She pauses, and I know right away, something’s wrong.
“What happened?” I demand. “Is this about the will? Did Brent get it thrown out already?”
“No, but...” Justine sounds reluctant. “I did something, and now you’ve got to promise not to be mad at me.”
“What?” I ask, my nerves growing. Justine is usually joking around, but she sounds deadly serious.
“So, I was thinking about why Ashcroft named you heir,” she says quickly. “And it doesn’t make sense, right? You only met him a couple of months ago, and the guy was eccentric, but not crazy, he still had his shit together.”
“Right...” I answer slowly, not sure where she’s going with this.
“But I got thinking about what you told me, that thing with the bracelet. He really wanted you to have it, like it mattered to him. Anyway, I just had this hunch, so I made them run a test, comparing your DNA to his.”
I freeze. “What? How?”
“You left your toothbrush at my house, one time you crashed there,” Justine explains, “Anyway, I figured it was a long-shot. I wasn’t going to say anything until the results came back.” She pauses. “They arrived today.”
I get this feeling of dread, like something terrible is about to happen.
“What does it say?” I whisper.
“They match,” Justine replies. “The DNA samples. They match. It explains everything, Keely, why he named you heir to his fortune. Ashcroft was your father.”
I sit down with a thump. “No.” I say, then again, louder. “No, there’s got to be some mistake. I know who my father is, he raised me!”
“I’m sorry, but it’s true, I can show you the lab report if you want,” Justine offers.
“I don’t understand,” I say, dizzy. “My parents were happy together, they were in love.”
“But they married super-fast, didn’t they?” Justine reminds me.
“Because it was love at first sight,” I whisper.
“It still might have been,” Justine tries to comfort me. “But I checked the dates. It looks like your mom was already pregnant when they met.”
“But with Ashcroft?” I try and wrap my head around it. “It’s impossible.”
“I’m sorry,” Justine says. “I know this is weird for you, but I found employment records, showing she was a secretary at his company for a year. Then she quit and moved to California and married your dad.”
“What? No,” I protest. “Mom would never have an affair with a married man.”
“She didn’t.” Justine reassures me. “This was before he met his wife. I guess it was scandalous enough, sleeping with the boss. They broke up right around the time she got pregnant. I don’t know what happened there.”
My head spins. My whole life I grew up believing I knew my parents. Why wouldn’t I? But now, the things Justine is telling me make me feel like they’re strangers.
“Are you OK?” she checks. “I know this is a lot to process.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what to think about anything anymore.”
“Well, the bright side is Brent can’t really contest the will,” Justine points out. “The DNA results show why Ashcroft left you the money. If they can’t claim you manipulated him into naming you in the will, then you’re safe from that morality clause.”