Page 61 of Where Secrets Lie

Savannah pressed her lips together. “I hope that’s true.”

“We don’t have many options. If we don’t find something that will help us, we’ll lose the stay motion. Hornbrook will seize TGU, and it will be all over.”

All over. This couldn’t be the end of the university her family had poured its life into for decades. She exhaled. “Okay, I get it. We have to try.” She turned his head toward her so his gaze locked with hers. “Promise me you’ll be careful.” She gently traced the healing incision on his head. “You can’t take another blow to the head, Hez. And I can’t b-bear the thought of losing you too.”

Her eyes flooded with moisture and she bit her lip, trying to gain control. Hez needed to attend that meeting focused and ready. She couldn’t send him off to slay dragons while he was worried about her.

He leaned in for a lingering kiss. “You know I will. It’s in a public place, so there’s little danger.”

She could think of all kinds of danger. A sniper, an attackout of nowhere. The cunning ways of their enemy had taken a heavy toll, but he didn’t want to see it. Jess had been in a public lot, yet they’d managed to set a bomb without detection.

His phone sounded, and he drew it from his pocket. “It’s Hope.” He answered it and put the phone to his ear for a moment. “Savannah is right here. Let me turn on speakerphone so we can both hear the news.” He touched the screen. “Go ahead, Hope, we’re both listening.”

“Savannah, did you know Jess had a safe in her office?” Hope sounded energized.

“No, she never showed me anything like that.”

“It was built into the back of her closet, and we found the key to open it. In addition to a copy of her will, we found several thousand dollars in cash.”

“Her will?”

“She left everything to you in trust for Simon and named you as his guardian.”

Savannah closed her eyes. She hadn’t thought through this kind of thing, but it made sense Jess would want her to care for Simon. But what about Simon’s father? Erik Andersen had vanished and the police suspected foul play, but they had never found his body. If anything would make him reappear, it was money. He would move heaven and earth to get the boy if it meant he would be in control of Jess’s estate. Savannah knew her sister well enough to be certain she’d left behind a substantial amount of money and investments.

“Are you guys still there?” Hope asked.

“Sorry, yes. Just a little stunned. I would never let him go anywhere else.” Savannah wanted to stand and pace, but she didn’t think her legs would hold her.

Hez’s arm tightened around her. “I’ll help you figure it out, babe. I’ll get probate opened to get the will processed.”

“I’ve read the will, and everything is in a trust,” Hope said. “The house, her personal property, all her investments and cash. She left nothing out.”

“That’s helpful,” Hez said. “The trust will likely be automatic, and Savannah would have become the successor trustee the instant Jess died. Anything in that trust would pass to you, Savannah. That makes one thing easy anyway.”

“The crime techs should be done soon, and I’ll release all of it to you, Savannah. You can have most of the house’s contents immediately. Her phone and laptop are in the process of being imaged and will probably be done by end of day. I’ll text you when you can have them.”

Savannah sagged against Hez as she realized all she needed to do. Jess’s beautiful house would need to be sold. Savannah would have to oversee financial records, investments, bank accounts—everything. But she had a university to save too, and even that task by itself seemed impossible. Simon wasn’t a burden but a blessing—but the other things would take more time and focus than she had to spare.

Hez’s deep voice rumbled against her ear. “Thanks for everything, Hope.”

Savannah straightened. “Yes, thank you, Hope.”

“My pleasure.”

The call ended, and Hez put his phone away. “There’s another probate proceeding I’ll start immediately—adoption.” He paused. “Do you think Erik Andersen is still alive?”

“I thought about him. The DNA tests on the blood drops found in his home showed that it was his, but that doesn’tprove he’s dead. I’m so afraid he’s going to show up and fight for Simon.”

Hez’s jaw flexed. “He has to get past me to reach our boy. I’ll fight him with everything I’ve got.”

His words bolstered Savannah’s courage. He truly loved Simon just like she did. And while Hez was a formidable attorney, would the law see the issue his way?

“Erik is—or at least was—Simon’s father,” Hez continued. “I’ve never handled an adoption case, but I know birth parents have strong rights in Alabama. Also, Erik has been denied contact with him for all of his life. A court might see that as unfair. And while we both know he was up to his elbows in the criminal activity involving TGU, he hasn’t been convicted of anything.”

“And hopefully he won’t want to show up and face criminal proceedings.”

“Hopefully.” Hez tugged at his lower lip for a moment, then shrugged. “Let’s not borrow tomorrow’s trouble.”

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