“According to the last will and testament of Gabriel Vance…”
Mercedes immediately sat up straight.
Adrian finally looked up.
“The entirety of the deceased’s real estate assets…” The lawyer began to list them off: A villa in the Hamptons. Three apartments in Manhattan. Financial investments. Offshore accounts. Shares in the family business.
With every sentence, I watched Mercedes’s eyes shine brighter. As if she were already calculating how much her share would be.
Then Mr. Sterling paused. A long pause. The entire room seemed to hold its breath.
And finally, he continued: “I, Gabriel Vance, leave the entirety of my estate…” His eyes fell upon me. And he finished the sentence.
At that exact moment… Adrian’s face went completely white. Mercedes let out a sharp gasp. And I… Suddenly understood that behind all of this lay something horrible hidden away. Something much worse than humiliation.
Because in the lawyer’s eyes, there wasn’t just discomfort. There was fear.
“…to the name of Isabel Fuentes.”
The silence was absolute. Mercedes was the first to react. “That’s impossible!” Her voice boomed through the room.
Adrian remained motionless, staring at the lawyer as if he had heard a foreign language. I couldn’t move either. Not because I was happy. But because none of it made sense.
Gabriel had never treated me like someone essential. For years, he made me feel like a guest in my own home. And now, out of nowhere, he was leaving me everything. Everything.
Mr. Sterling took a deep breath before continuing. “There are additional conditions in the will.”
There it was. The reason for the fear in his eyes. The lawyer pulled out another, smaller document. His hands were shaking slightly.
“Mr. Gabriel Vance left specific instructions for this portion to be read only in the presence of the entire family.”
Mercedes was already red with rage. “This is manipulation! That woman controlled him for years.”
I didn’t look at her. Because I was starting to understand that this went far beyond money.