Misfortune Cookie Read Free

hard to leave behind. Foreboding shook my hands. Like a caught rabbit, all my instincts screamed for me to run. I started when Selene took my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
    “I’ll save a seat for you,” she promised before departing.
    Grace gave me a wave as my sister shut the door, leaving me alone with the lawyer.
    For a moment, the only sound was the heavy tick-tock of the grandfather clock. A stark reminder that even with all that wealth can buy, time waits for no man. Or woman.
    I shook my head. “Look at all of this opulence. This stuff. Antiques. Estates all over the world. The insane art collection. None of it mattered.”
    The lawyer’s gaze fixed on mine as if apprising me. “Sebastian’s life had more meaning than the measure of his wealth.” He motioned for me to follow him to the desk.
    Step after leaden step, I trailed behind him, unable to shake the feeling that I was going to the gallows. It didn’t seem possible or real. I lived in a small house in a normal suburban neighborhood. I enjoyed my job as an artist. It had taken me years to re-build a new identity, away from the press and my past indiscretions.
    Reality froze my limbs as sure as if metal shackles had been clamped on my ankles and wrists. I’d be hounded again. Paparazzi would stalk my every move, once word got out. Hell and damnation.
    The lawyer waited patiently for me to take a seat opposite Sebastian’s ornate and ridiculously large desk. I could walk away. Couldn’t I? The sensation of being watched tripped my nerve endings. I peered over my shoulder and stared at Sebastian’s portrait above the fireplace. His steely gaze bore into my forehead as if he knew I was considering forsaking his final wish.
    Why did I promise him that I’d do as he asked? Idiot me.
    I know why I went when he’d summoned me from his deathbed. It was a final chance to reconcile the bad blood between us. A chance I never had with my parents. They’d died in an accident. Even though they were self-absorbed celebrities who wanted nothing to do with me or my sister, I mourned their loss.
    Sebastian exploited my guilt, knowing I wouldn’t refuse to visit him. Seeing him hooked up to tubes and monitors had been sobering. He had always been larger than life, a force of nature. Despite his terminal condition, a commanding presence radiated off of him. I half expected him to demand the disease to leave his veins and it would comply like everything and everyone had always done. According to the doctor, he had a rare condition that had hardened his arteries and weakened his heart. There was no cure, and they’d run out of options.
    As he lay there, death imminent, he ordered everyone out of the room but me. Once we were alone, he made a simple request.
    “Radiance, promise me that you will comply with my wishes when the time comes.” His voice, while not as robust, was sharp enough to slice my resolve.
    “Is this about money? You know how I feel about that.” I’d reformed. After a youth spent living in hotels, boarding schools, movie sets, and after a series of public debacles, culminating in the sex-tape scandal, I never wanted access to the fortune again. Nothing good in my life had ever come from money or fame. In fact, it’d always made everything worse.
    He let out a dry, papery chuckle. “Money doesn’t make people assholes. It only makes assholes more obnoxious. Besides, no one will know who gets the money before I leave this earth. That includes you.”
    “Well, that’s a relief. I won’t become a jerk anytime soon then.” I shifted in my seat, the conversation suddenly uncomfortable. We hadn’t had a real talk in a long time. And, sadly, I realized we wouldn’t have the chance again.
    “I know we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. And that you’ve resented my interventions in your life. Before you protest, let me finish. I’ve only ever wanted the best for you.” The old man smiled, then his expression turned more somber.