Page 70 of Defenseless
“Sabina O’Malley,” he replied, his voice heavily accented. Much as Vitor’s had been.
Sabina was smart enough to recognize the uncertainty of the situation and remained silent.
“You are?” Chad asked. The man’s attention shifted from where he’d been trying to get a glimpse of Sabina tucked behind him, to Chad.
Chad held his gaze with a steely one of his own. The longer they stayed in this weird sort of standoff, the more populated the streets would get. Not that the adage “safety in numbers” was always true, but it was definitely safer than if they met alone in an alley.
“I mean you no harm,” the man finally said, holding his hands up in a placating gesture.
“You are?” Chad repeated.
“My name is Larry Salinsky. I’m a lawyer for certain aspects of Benicio Silva’s estate.” Neither statement was one Chad had expected. The name didn’t fit with the man. Nor had it occurred to Chad that Benicio would have estate matters that involved the daughters whom, until the day before, he hadn’t seen for more than twenty years.
However, there was a more pressing question. “How did you find her?” He didnotlike the idea of Sabina and Kara coming onto the radar ofanyonein Benicio’s life.
Larry inclined his head in Chad’s direction, but when he spoke, he looked at Sabina. “Five years ago, Benicio hired our firm to locate you and your sister. It took a year, but we eventually tracked you to DC and your sister to Los Angeles, to the extent she remained in the United States. After Benicio’s untimely death, it was little more than to track private flights out of São Paulo. It was not a surprise to see you come home to the headquarters of HICC.”
Sabina had loosened her grip on the back of his jacket, and reluctantly, he shifted to the side so she could step out from behind him.
“My father tracked us?” she asked. Larry nodded. “Why would he do that?”
“He wished for you to have this.” Larry started to reach for something in the inside pocket of his jacket. Chad’s body went on high alert, and he rocked onto the balls of his feet. He held an arm out, ready to push Sabina out of the way if needed.
Noting the shift in Chad, Larry nodded then raised his hands in front of him. “You are right to be cautious,” he said. “There is an envelope in my coat pocket. May I retrieve it?”
“Slowly,” Chad said. To his credit, the lawyer didn’t seem to mind being treated with such suspicion. With one hand, he plucked the side of his jacket back far enough that Chad could see he was unarmed. When Chad nodded, Larry reached inside and pulled a standard business-size envelope from the pocket of the silk lining.
Then dropping the jacket back into place, he handed the envelope over. “For you and your sister,” he said.
“What is it?” Sabina asked, taking it and turning it over in her hand. It had the name of what Chad assumed was Larry’s law firm in the upper left corner but was otherwise blank.
Larry shook his head. “I do not know. He paid us to hold on to it with the proviso that it be delivered to either you or your sister within forty-eight hours of his death if, and only if, he did not die of natural causes.”
“A deathbed confession?” Sabina mulled out loud.
Chad thought it likely, but of what? The reason he’d left them all those years ago? His activities with the crime family? Something else?
“Is there anything else?” Chad asked, still not entirely trusting Larry.
Again, the lawyer shook his head. “There are other matters of the estate, of course. But those are not so timely and will take some months to sort out. You and your sister are his sole heirs, of course,” he said. Until those words, Sabina’s attention had remained focused on the letter.
Her gaze lifted. “His estate?”
“A substantial one,” Larry answered.
“All built on ill-gotten gains. No, thank you,” Sabina said. “And I know my sister would feel the same. We don’t want anything to do with it.”
“Unfortunately, that is not the way it works. You could try to disclaim the inheritance, but that would take years.”
“And if they don’t?” Chad asked.
“As I said, it will be settled in months.”
Sabina started to say something, but Chad took her hand and squeezed. “I know why you want to disclaim it,” he said. “But you should talk to Kara first. It might be worth taking it then turning around and giving it away. If your goal is to have as little to do with him as possible, that might be a faster way to get him out of your life for good.”
Her eyes held steady on his then she nodded. “Yes, I’ll talk to Kara tonight. Do you have a card?” she asked, turning to Larry. The lawyer glanced at Chad, who nodded, then he reached into his pocket and pulled one out.
“Please contact us at your convenience and let us know how you wish to proceed. It goes without saying that certain aspects of the distribution will need your involvement. If you wish to close the proceedings quickly, I’d contact us as soon as possible.”
