Page 8 of Six Month Wife
"He chose to file his will in Vermont intentionally. From what I gathered, he preferred the legal structure and, more importantly, the privacy. Louisiana probate can get tangled, especially with extended family. Vermont gave him more control over how things would be handled and who would be involved."
"Oh, okay. So it was strategic?"
If Roger was anything, he was painfully strategic. Of course he would pick an obscure state and attorney to handle his affairs after death.
"You got it. Roger was very deliberate. He didn’t want noise or interference.”
“Right,” I murmur, stomach tightening. That tracks.
Roger didn’t just cheer me on through med school. He made it a game. Notes tucked into textbooks, riddles scribbled on napkins, cryptic quotes taped to my fridge like I was living inside some Ivy League scavenger hunt. He hada way of turning everything into a puzzle, like life only counted if you solved it.
He personified the adage of playing chess while others were playing checkers.
I've never had a close relationship with my father. Roger was more that figure in my life. He believed in me before I even believed in myself. When I wanted to quit med school, he told me genius runs in our blood, and if I wasted mine, he’d haunt me.
Honestly, he probably still will. He had a dark sense of humor like that.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
The man’s voice is professional but not cold. I don't answer right away, trying to decipher why he's calling me.
“I won’t keep you long. Your uncle left very specific instructions regarding the execution of his will. You’ve been named as a primary beneficiary.”
I sit up straighter. “Me? I have?”
“Yes. In fact, you’re the sole beneficiary of his estate, pending a condition that must be fulfilled.”
My brow furrows.
“Estate?” I repeat, not because I doubt it, but because I had no idea. I guess Vermont wasn't the only thing he kept secret.
He never gave any indication he had anything more than enough to get by. The man practically lived off ramen and Goodwill. He never held a regular job, as far as I knew.
He also didn’t have children or a spouse. He was a quirky loner, and I loved him for it.
My father was the successful one in the family. He built an empire worth several hundred million dollars and made sure everyone knew it. Every chance he got. It cost him hismarriage and any kind of personal relationship outside of work.
Maybe that's why Roger chose to take a different route. The brothers couldn't have been more different.
“Yes. He had a private portfolio that outperformed most hedge funds for two decades,” the attorney says. “In addition to his stocks, he owned three significant parcels of land across the state of Louisiana, plus the holding I mentioned in Vermont earlier.”
Silence stretches between us as my brain continues to absorb all of this.
“How much are we talking?” I finally ask. More curious than anything else. I don’tneedthe money, but this whole call has the feel of a top-secret British spy drop. Which is so Uncle Roger.
“North of six hundred million. Not including the properties.”
I almost choke on my tongue. “Jesus.”
“He and I worked on how he would structure this for you, hoping you'd treat this as a challenge, not a chore,” the man adds calmly but with precision. “That’s how he phrased it.”
My chest tightens. A challenge? What the fuck. Jesus. Did he die, or is this an episode of Punk'd?
Uncle Roger might’ve had more money than Leeland. That’s fucking hilarious. I laugh under my breath, already picturing the aneurysm my father’s going to have when he finds out.
And then it hits me.
I don’t want my father to find out. I'd rather keep it to myself, like Roger did. It's all very clear to me now why he would, having a brother like Leeland Matthews.
