Page 96 of The Belle and the Biker

"About time!" Harold's mother, Ronnie, yells. She glares at me as if what happened to her son is all my fault.

Mr. Burnham doesn't even look at her, and he just introduces himself in a loud, ringing voice and tells us what we already know—that we are here to learn the terms of Jebediah Harkwell's trust.

"Is my Harold getting the money or not?" Ronnie shrieks.

He looks at her haughtily. "If I may be allowed to continue."

Then he starts explaining the sad history and unusual terms of the trust. Crash and I exchange glances and small smiles, and I know we're both thinking the same thing. There's a man who loves the sound of his own voice.

Not only that, but we both know we'll be okay. Crash apologized profusely for not telling me what was happening with his father and Astrid. It made sense when he told me about his upbringing and the rich side of his family kicking him and his mother to the curb. And we both agreed that we're meant to be together and from now on, if we have any issues, we will tell the other person, not sit and stew about it.

"Pansy Wattenbarger had been promised to Quincy Harkwell at a very young age." Mr. Burnham's voice booms through the room. "When she and Jebediah Harkwell fell in love, it was of no importance to her family. A promise was a promise. She begged Quincy to release her from her vows but to no avail. He threatened to challenge Jebediah to a duel if his rival didn't abandon his pursuit. And when she found herself with child shortly before her wedding night, her fate was sealed."

I grimace in sympathy. I know what it's like to be constrained by your family's expectations.

"Jebediah's family were disgusted with his cavorting with a woman who was already betrothed—and to his distant relative. They kidnapped him and left town, and by the time he escaped, Pansy had, in despair, gone through with the wedding. It was either that or face poverty and ruin as an unwed single mother in 1920. She thought Jebediah had abandoned her."

Poor Pansy. Trapped in a loveless marriage.

"Jebediah was the sole heir to his family's fortune," Burnham continues. "Furious at his family, he never married or fathered any more children. And he did meet up with Pansy again, in secret. He wanted to leave all of his worldly possessions to his only son, but Pansy did not want the truth to come out in her or her son's lifetime, as it would have meant social ruin for them both. She made him promise to wait a hundred years before the inheritance would be distributed to her son's youngest descendent."

Mr. Burnham hesitates dramatically, and you can hear a pin drop.

"And the DNA test proves conclusively that…"

He waits until everyone in the room is ready to scream. "Miss Savannah Lianne Harkwell is indeed the youngest descendent of Jebediah Harkwell's son."

"Nooo!" Ronnie howls in despair. She leaps up and kicks her chair over. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." Then she glares at everyone around the table. "What the fuck are you all looking at? Assholes! Shitheads! You don't get any money either, so ha! Come on, Stewart!" She and her husband, Stewart, storm out of the room.

Everyone else sits there in stunned silence as Mr. Burnham spells out the terms of the will. For a lot of them, it's terrible news. They have ninety days to vacate their homes or come to an arrangement with me. Their trust disbursements will also cease in ninety days.

After he's done speaking, everyone rushes him at once. He holds up his hands, trying to calm them down. Crash and I move away from the crowd. I'm stunned, speechless, and I somehow couldn't believe it until this moment.

My mother stalks over to me, the picture of wounded dignity. "It figures that you and your father are descended from someone with corrupt morals. I never would have married into this family if I'd known! Randolph, I want you out of the house tomorrow."

"But it's my house now." I fold my arms across my chest because I know she hates it when I do that. "He can stay. You can't."

"I'll sue you until you don't have a cent left!" she screeches at me.

"With what money?" I snort. "Lawyers cost money. And you have a lot less than you used to. All you've got is half of Daddy's pension and savings. Which I happen to know aren't that much because you spent every penny Daddy earned and relied heavily on that trust."

Her face goes white. She hurries over to the attorney, pushing her way through the angry crowd. There's a lot of screeching, and she tries to punch him, but he blocks her.

A wave of dizziness sweeps over me, and I sway where I stand. Crash loops his arm around my waist.

"Savannah, are you okay?" my father asks.

"Oh, I think I'm going to be just fine." And I let Crash lower me gently into a chair.

* * *

"Oh, my God. I'm so rich," I marvel.

Crash and I are back in Sugar Hill, sitting on the porch swing of my family home. He's drinking a Guinness, and I'm sipping sweet tea.

I'm so rich. I've been saying it for days and still can't believe it. I inherited a massive pile of cash and half the land in Sugar Hill. Right now, the families of the houses that were held in trust are threatening to sue, posturing, and throwing tantrums, but from what I can tell, Jebediah's trust was ironclad, and they have no legal ground to stand on. I'm willing to let them stay and pay me a very reasonable rent, and I think most of them will come around pretty quickly once they see they have no choice.

Chase is going to recommend someone to sit on the board of the investment company as my proxy. I don't know enough about investments to do it myself, but I want to have a say in the company's investments to ensure they align with my values.

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