Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 28711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
"Thanks," Chloe says.
I squeeze her hand, my heart hurting for her. She's been through a lot. I hate that she's had to go through so much of it on her own because she had no one to help her. The courts are supposed to protect people with trust funds, and yet they haven't protected her. They just let her mom take advantage of her. Who knows how much damage she's really done financially? And now there's this other big thing on top of it.
It's going to take Chloe a long time to heal from it. But she will heal. She'll grow stronger. She'll find love and people who deserve to be in her life. She'll find family worthy of the name. She'll build a bright future full of happy memories, and eventually, this will be little more than a painful part of her past. One that helped shape her into the person she'll become somewhere down the road. That's what adversity always does, isn't it? It shapes us. It changes us. It helps us grow.
I think maybe it's time for me to grow past the painful parts of my past too. I've been so afraid for so long that my parents would stop loving me if I messed up that I let it eat at me. I let it drive me further and further away. And the whole time, all that fear did was cause me to mess up even worse because I didn't turn to them for help when I needed it. I have to confront my fear and stop running from it before it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
"I can give you copies of everything if you want to see it," Finn says quietly. "But I'd recommend letting us deal with it, Chloe. We can hold onto them for you. If you ever decide you want to see them, Charlie can get you copies."
Chloe nods, staring down at the tabletop. "Can you at least tell me when it started? I mean, when did they start…?"
"From the looks of it, about four months ago," Finn says.
Chloe's shoulders slump with relief. "After we broke up then," she whispers and then laughs abruptly. "At least they had the decency to wait until we were broken up before they started sleeping together."
I scoot closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"Chloe, when do you gain access to your trust fund?" Jude asks.
"When I'm twenty-one. My mom is the trustee until then," she mutters.
"Is there someone else who can be appointed in her place?"
"Maybe," Chloe says. "My Aunt Karen. She's my dad's sister. Um, she and my mom don't get along, so she's not really been part of my life since my dad died, but I'd rather have her oversee the trust than my mom."
"I'm not an estate litigator, but I have them on my payroll, sweetheart," he says softly. "We can help you file an injunction to get your mom removed as a trustee. If your aunt isn't interested in taking on the role in her place, we can find someone willing to act as trustee until your twenty-first birthday."
"I…I'm not sure I can afford that."
"Who said I was charging you?" Jude grins. "I've made more than enough money in my life. I don't need yours, Chloe."
"I don't know what to say." She stares at him in shock, clearly overwhelmed.
He seems to know it. He reaches into his pocket to pull out his card. "You don't have to say anything now. Take some time to think about it. If you want to take me up on the offer, call me. Day or night." He slides the card across the table to her. "I wrote my cellphone number on the back for you."
Chloe lifts the card from the table and turns it over, examining his neat scrawl. She's silent for a long moment, and then she glances at me. I nod silently. I don't know Jude well, but I believe he's here because he wants to help her. Xavier wouldn't have brought him here if he wasn't someone she could trust.
"Okay," she says, taking a breath. She glances back at Jude, squaring her shoulders. "Let's do it."
An hour later, Xavier and I leave Jude and Finn with Chloe and head back to Tate's penthouse. Jude and Finn are going to meet us at the Dean's office in the morning, just in case we need them. Xavier thinks having a lawyer on hand is a good idea. I can't say he's wrong, especially when the lawyer is Jude Despora. Everyone in this part of Texas knows his name and his firm. If he's willing to go to bat for me with the Dean, I'm not going to turn down the help. I'm not crazy.
I'm not turning down Finn's help, either. He's a computer genius. If the Dean has questions about how we got our hands on Daniel's emails, he'll be able to think up answers way better than I can. I'm not very good at the lying and spying parts. I have a feeling Finn has those parts down pat, though. He's a freaking hacker. He's probably excellent at lying and spying.