Chapter 3
Mia showed up ten minutes later with two bottles of cheap red wine, a gallon of mint chocolate chip, and a baseball bat she kept in her trunk “for emergencies.”
We sat on the scratchy motel bed, ate ice cream straight from the tub, and didn’t talk about the will for almost an hour.
Then my phone rang.
Private number.
I answered, my heart in my throat.
“Olivia? It’s Daniel Bennett.” His voice was calm, even at 11:30 at night. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No,” I said. “I’m up.”
“Good,” he said. “I wanted to give you a heads-up. We just received a cease-and-desist letter from Hannah and your mother’s new lawyer. They’re claiming our will is a forgery, that I coerced your father into signing it when he was incompetent.”
I laughed, a sharp, bitter sound. “Of course they are.”
“It’s nothing we can’t handle,” he said. “We have more than enough evidence to bury them. But I wanted you to be prepared. They’re going to try to paint you as the villain. The greedy daughter who abandoned her family and then came back to steal from her grieving mother and sister.”
My stomach twisted.
“Dad knew I was there,” I said. “Every chemo. Every bad night. He knew.”
“I know,” Mr. Bennett said. “And we’ll prove it. But it’s going to get ugly before it gets better. Can you handle that?”
I looked at Mia, who was already nodding at me, her eyes fierce.
“I can handle it,” I said.
“Good,” he said. “One more thing. Your father left a video. He recorded it the same day he signed the will. For you. I can send a secure link tomorrow, if you’re ready to watch it.”
My breath caught.
A video of Dad. Alive. Talking to me.
“Send it,” I said. “First thing.”
He hung up.
Mia squeezed my hand. “You got this.”
I didn’t sleep much that night.
I lay awake, staring at the water stain on the ceiling, replaying the slap over and over. The way no one had said a word. The way Hannah had smirked.
Then I thought of Dad’s signature on the will. The way he’d planned this, even when he was dying, to make sure I was taken care of.
Morning came too fast.
My phone pinged at 8 a.m. A secure link from Mr. Bennett.
I sat up, my hands shaking, and clicked play.
Dad was on the screen.
He looked thinner than I remembered, his skin pale, his eyes tired. But his smile was the same—the same lopsided, warm smile that had always made everything feel okay.
“Hey, kiddo,” he said, and my throat closed up. “If you’re watching this, I’m gone. And I’m so, so sorry I left you.”
He paused, swallowed hard.
“I know things have been hard with your mom and Hannah,” he said. “I know I didn’t do enough to stop it. I was trying to keep the peace, keep the family together, and I ended up letting you get hurt. That’s on me. And I’ll never be able to say I’m sorry enough.”
He leaned forward, his eyes serious.
“The will with Hale and Bennett is the real one. Everything split even. But Liv, if they fight you? If they try to say you don’t deserve it? You fight back. You hear me? You don’t back down. Not for them. Not for anyone. You are every bit as much my daughter as Hannah is. You deserve every bit of this, and more.”
He smiled again, a little sad.
“I always told you you were my rock, didn’t I?” he said. “All those nights in the hospital, when I was scared? You were the one who held my hand. You were the one who made me laugh when I thought I’d never laugh again. Hannah was… Hannah was always your mom’s. But you? You were mine.”
Tears were streaming down my face, fast and hot, but I couldn’t look away.
“One last thing,” he said. “The old watch. The one my dad gave me. It’s in the back of my closet, in the safe. The code is your birthday. It’s yours. Always has been. Don’t let them take it.”
He leaned in, like he was hugging me through the screen.
“I love you, kiddo,” he said. “More than words. Be brave. I’m always with you.”
The video ended.
I sat there for a long time, crying, holding my phone to my chest like it was him.
Then I wiped my face, stood up, and got dressed.
May you like
I had a fight to win.
And for the first time, I knew I wasn’t fighting alone.
