Chapter 12 - THE VISITORThe news broke the next morning. WALL STREET SCANDAL: BENNETT FORTUNE TRANSFERS TO FIVE-YEAR-OLD HEIRESS. MARGARET BENNETT DENIED BAIL.
I spent the day fielding calls from wealth managers, security firms, and PR agencies. I hired the best private security team in New York. I set up blind trusts to protect Sophie’s identity from the media.
At 6:00 PM, the intercom in my apartment buzzed. “Ms. Bennett? You have a visitor in the lobby. He says his name is Elias Thorne.”
I hesitated. Elias had helped me in court, but he was a shark. And sharks always want a piece of the kill.
“Send him up,” I said.
Elias stood in my doorway ten minutes later. He looked around the modest, tasteful apartment, his expensive overcoat draped over his arm.
“Not bad,” Elias said, stepping inside. “Though with two billion in the bank, I’d expect a view of the skyline.”
“I’m not spending her money, Elias. It goes into a trust. What do you want?”
Elias turned to me. For the first time since I met him, the armor of the ruthless billionaire seemed to crack. He looked old.
“Daniel came to see me today,” Elias said quietly. “He asked me for a job. He asked for money. He told me he was my son and I owed him.”
“And what did you say?”
“I told him that blood makes you related, but loyalty makes you family,” Elias said. He pulled a small velvet box from his pocket and placed it on the counter. “I don't have a family, Claire. I spent my life building a mountain of gold, and I have no one to leave it to. Daniel is weak. He let his mother control him, and he let you walk away.”
I didn't open the box. “I don't want your money, Elias.”
“It’s not money,” Elias smiled faintly. “It’s the deed to the Bennett family mansion in the Hamptons. The one Margaret loved so much. I bought it at the foreclosure auction this morning. I want you to have it. Let the girl grow up by the ocean.”
I stared at him. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because Arthur bested me,” Elias admitted, a genuine laugh escaping his chest. “He played the long game. He let me think I won Margaret, while he secured his legacy through you and that little girl. I respect a well-executed checkmate.”
May you like
Elias walked to the door. “Take care of the kid, Claire. She’s got the blood of a king in her.”
The door clicked shut. I stood in the quiet kitchen, holding the velvet box, realizing that the war was truly, finally over.
