The Dark Inheritance (The Investigation Duo Book 2) Read online

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Epilogue

  Also by Liane Carmen

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2020 by Liane Carmen.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher, with the exception of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Trademarked names appear throughout this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, names are used in an editorial fashion, with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.

  ISBN: 978-0-9984247-4-3 (paperback)

  ISBN: 978-0-9984247-3-6 (e-book)

  Cover design by 100 covers.

  Author photo by Bill Ziady.

  (www.matchframeproductions.com)

  To Mark and Ben, for understanding

  just how much time it takes to write a book.

  Chapter One

  She didn’t care that he was dead. It sounded harsh, but as far as Donna was concerned, her father had died long before the day he succumbed to cancer. She had lost her father the same terrible day her mother died during childbirth. A delivery that came early and went horribly wrong. In a split second, the life Donna had was gone.

  She never even knew if she would have had a sister or a brother. Her father refused to talk about the baby or her mother. He just simply shut down. Donna tried to remember a time when her father hadn’t been distant and cold, but those memories had faded a long time ago.

  Donna looked over at Jay, still sleeping with one leg outside the covers. He was a hulking sort of man with dark hair and a goatee starting to show a little gray. Jay was 6’4” and the kind of man you wanted on your side in a barroom brawl. He’d been in a few of those and had the scars to prove it.

  She nudged him on the shoulder. “Come on, baby, it’s payday.”

  Jay uttered what sounded like an aggravated grunt and rolled over to bury his face in the pillow.

  Donna threw the covers back and trotted off into the bathroom. Placing her hands on the vanity, she leaned in to take in her reflection in the mirror. Her red curls were in a tangled mess on top of her head, and her blue eyes sparkled with an excitement she hadn’t seen in a long time. It was like her birthday and a winning lottery ticket all in one.

  She stepped into the shower and let the hot water run over her. Everything would be different after today. No more shitty apartment. No more dead-end job.

  She held up her left hand and imagined a larger diamond sparkling on her ring finger, an upgrade to something nice. Right before her dad died, Jay had finally proposed with the modest diamond she had now. They hadn’t gotten around to the actual ceremony yet. Maybe now they’d fly somewhere exotic and have a destination wedding. Tahiti sounded nice.

  Her father wouldn’t be there to see his only daughter get married. Not that he would have cared, even if he was still alive. He hadn’t been there for her first wedding either.

  When she finished showering, she toweled off and attempted to tame her curls before accepting defeat with a sigh. As she stood looking in the mirror, putting the finishing touches on her makeup, Jay filled the doorway and then made his way into the small bathroom.

  He smacked her on the butt. “Out.” Jay was a man of few words.

  Donna padded to the closet and pulled out the dress she’d bought for this day. She’d decided black would be most appropriate. It was wildly expensive, and it would have been something she couldn’t afford in the past. But now, the world was about to become her kingdom. After today, never again would she have to worry about credit card balances or rent checks bouncing.

  Donna dropped her towel and slid into the designer dress. She bit her bottom lip and slipped on the new black heels, which had cost even more than the dress. She stepped back and admired her reflection in the mirror. Perfect. Precisely the way someone who was about to be rich should look.

  As she sat at the kitchen table finishing her coffee, Jay strolled into the kitchen. He chugged some orange juice right from the carton and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  Donna frowned and tried to keep the dismay from her voice. “Is that what you’re wearing?”

  Jay was dressed in jeans, worn work boots, and a T-shirt from one of the construction companies he had worked at the year before. Donna was always nagging him to try to get his general contractor’s license. He was too smart to be wasting his time in the Florida heat banging nails for someone else, but he always said he was just fine the way he was. His ‘just fine’ also meant time off when he was between jobs.

  Jay glanced down at himself and scowled as he brought his gaze back up. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” He eyed Donna’s dress. “And what are you wearing? Are we going to a fashion show, or are we going to pick up a big check?”

  It wasn’t worth fighting about. “You’re right. It doesn’t matter.”

  Donna didn’t want Jay to change his mind about going with her. She just wanted to get this over with so she could start her new life.

  The entrance to the lawyer’s office was richly decorated and positively reeked of expensive furnishings and old money. Donna gave the receptionist her name and lowered herself into the chair next to Jay, perching on the edge, her heart thumping in her chest.

  After a few minutes, she got up and paced in the reception area. As Donna’s heels clicked rhythmically on the lobby floor, the girl behind the desk watched her with a hard stare.

  Jay grabbed the bottom of her arm and pulled her back down into the chair. “Sit the hell down, would you?”

  Donna was feeling too anxious to sit but did what Jay told her to. She had played the part, said the right things, cried on cue at the funeral. Today had been her goal. When her father was alive, he had never given her anything.

  She’d left home as soon as she turned eighteen, determined to make i
t on her own. But how could she? If she hadn’t needed someone, anyone, to take care of her, she would have never married Nick.

  She could still hear her father’s voice when she graduated high school, moved out, got divorced. “I could buy you a new car, a new house, but what would that teach you, Donna? You’d become entitled and unappreciative.” That was a joke. He had never given her a single thing to be appreciative of, not his time or his money, and certainly not the affection a daughter deserved from her dad.

  But now, there was no one to leave his wealth to. Donna was it. She’d never been a priority for him, but it wasn’t like he could take his money with him.

  Finally, after what seemed like an insufferable amount of time, a thin blonde woman in a skin-tight business suit pushed open the offices' doors. She glanced around the waiting room. Who was she looking for? They were the only ones sitting there.

  The secretary’s gaze froze momentarily on Jay and finally fixed on Donna. “Norman will see you now.”

  The woman waited for Donna and Jay to stand. She led them across the perfectly polished floor, through the glass doors, and into an office. Two chairs were placed in front of the most enormous mahogany desk Donna had ever seen.

  She and Jay took their seats after shaking hands with Norman, her father’s attorney.

  The lawyer looked uncomfortable as he glanced in Jay’s direction. “Donna, I expected you would come alone. Is this your husband? I was under the impression you weren’t married.”

  Donna dismissed his concerns. “We’ll be married soon enough. I have no problems with him hearing anything you have to say.”

  Jay leaned back in his chair, his lips set in a firm line, arms crossed in front of his chest. Clearly, he wanted Norman to know he had only come because Donna wanted him there.

  Donna settled into the big brown leather chair in front of the lawyer’s desk, crossed her legs, and flicked her expensive shoes in anticipation.

  “Okay, then. As I told you on the phone,” Norman said, “your father nominated me in his will to be the personal representative for his estate.” That news hadn’t surprised Donna. Her father didn’t need family. He paid people to care about him and meet his needs. “I have filed the original last will and testament with the probate court, but there are some … some special circumstances. I thought it would be best for you to come in so I could go through them with you.”

  Donna stole a glance at Jay. She had no idea what kind of special circumstances could arise from a will, but she reminded herself it would all be over soon.

  “It’s never an easy thing to lose a parent, but we’re here today to discuss your father’s final wishes.”

  Norman opened a legal-sized folder that had Donna’s father’s name typed on the label. He seemed to study the contents and then brought his gaze back up to Donna. A flicker of something crossed his face. Was it pity? Donna’s heartbeat ramped up.

  “I knew your dad for many years. I’m not under the mistaken impression he was the father any little girl deserved. I do know that losing your mother hurt him more than he would ever admit, and maybe that changed him.” Norman paused as if he wanted to say more and then removed what appeared to be a letter from the file.

  Donna caught her breath and shifted in her seat.

  “I’m going to read you a letter written by your father with the request to read it after his death. It was written not long before he died.”

  Donna’s stomach twisted. Was this the old man’s way of screwing her even after he was gone? Oh my god, what had he done?

  Chapter Two

  Norman perched a pair of glasses on his nose, cleared his throat, and began to read:

  Dear Donna,

  By the time this letter is read to you, I will be gone. As I prepare to meet my maker, I have had no choice but to reflect on the life I have led. It’s times like this that all the business success in life really doesn’t matter. You can’t take the money with you, and you can’t get the time back you should have spent living differently. I won’t lie and tell you I’m not disappointed in myself as a father. I know you deserved better.

  No shit, she did. Donna involuntary let out a sound and flicked her shoe impatiently. She wished the attorney would just get to the point.

  Norman paused and seemed to wait to see if Donna would interrupt. Her lips were pressed together, her anxiety reflected by her bouncing shoe. He looked down and continued reading.

  I wasn’t a good father to you, and I was an even worse father to your sister.

  Donna narrowed her eyes as she leaned forward in her chair. Had she misheard the attorney? “Um, I’m sorry,” she interrupted. “But I don’t have a sister.”

  Norman held up his hand. “Let me continue, and I’m sure it will start to make sense soon.” The attorney turned his attention back to the letter, found his place, and continued to read.

  Yes, that’s right, your sister. Somewhere in the world, I have another daughter. I’m ashamed to say I never acknowledged her. When your mother died, I fell into a deep depression that I didn’t know if I could ever get out of. I couldn’t even be a father to you. I certainly couldn’t handle being a father to another child, especially since I barely knew her mother.

  Her mother and I met at the airport about a year after your mom died. I was on a business trip to New York and trying to get home before the bad weather set in. As I sat at the airport bar waiting for my flight, a pretty, young girl named Molly sat next to me. We started chatting. It was never my intention that anything would happen between us, but it began to snow, and all the flights were delayed. We were sitting at the bar, having one drink after another. Finally, the weather got so bad, they announced all flights were canceled for the night, and we should come back the next day. We decided to share a cab back into the city to find hotel rooms, and you can imagine what happened next. She was a sweet girl, and I was so very lonely without your mother.

  The next day, we headed back to the airport, boarded our respective flights, and went our separate ways. This was not a relationship in the making. She was much younger than me, I’m ashamed to say, and while it was definitely consensual, I’m sure the alcohol played a big part. I certainly should have known better, but I was a lonely man, and ultimately, as you are more aware than most, a selfish man as well.

  A couple of months later, she called my office, and I had no idea who she was. Apparently, I had given her a pen from my firm to write down her flight information, and she had used it to find me when she discovered she was pregnant. Was I even supposed to believe her that it was mine? I knew I couldn’t have anything to do with this baby. I couldn’t even handle the way you looked at me after your mom died. You were so needy, and you looked at me with your big blue eyes wanting me to make sense of it all. How could I explain it to you when I didn’t understand it myself?

  I couldn’t handle another emotional attachment, so I bailed. Molly called several more times, and I finally told Ella to stop putting through her calls. I acted like a selfish bastard and refused to acknowledge her or my responsibility to my unborn child. I left her to deal with it on her own and turned my back on them both, much the way I emotionally abandoned you. She tried to bring your sister to see me once when she was a toddler. One look at her and I knew she had been telling the truth, but I called her a liar and told her to never come back.

  As I prepare to die, I can’t go without making it right by taking care of both my daughters. For that reason, I have designated that she should receive a portion of my estate. Until you have located my other child, your half-sister, Norman has been instructed that he cannot disburse your share of the inheritance.

  I never thought much about trying to locate her until recently. I have tested my DNA and left my results and account information with Norman to pass along. See the article enclosed. It sounds like these two women have found that DNA can find almost anyone, and they’ve opened a detective agency to help others. Maybe they can help you. As this method may not be accepted lega
lly, I have also left a sample with a local lab for final confirmation.

  I don’t know much about your sister or her mother except for the few details I remember from so long ago. Your sister was born when you were about five years old, and if I had to guess, her mother, Molly, was in her mid-twenties. She mentioned taking some time off after high school to travel. She was in New York for her first big job interview after graduating from college, though she never told me where she went to school. She was leaving to go back to Orlando, where she was from and was disappointed when the flight got canceled. She was missing her niece’s first birthday party. She mentioned Bella, the baby, had been sick at Christmas, so she hadn’t gotten to see her, and she knew her brother and his wife would be upset she wasn’t going to be back in time. Apparently, she came from a large family, and it was to be quite the gathering with lots of relatives.

  I wish I could tell you more that might help you. There’s so much I’m sorry for, and I’m not even sure I’m brave enough to tell you everything that’s on my mind. Please understand I have so much to make right, not only with you. I hope in time, you’ll be able to forgive me and get the life you have always deserved.

  Dad