Chapter 3 3

For two days, Arla worked from the motel room. The floor was littered with empty coffee cups and takeout containers. On the third morning, a black town car pulled into the motel parking lot. Two men in suits got out. They moved with the stiff precision of corporate lawyers.

Arla watched them from the window before opening the door just as they raised their hands to knock.

"I assume you have the paperwork," she said, her voice flat. She was wearing black leggings and a gray hoodie, the perfect picture of the trailer park girl they expected.

The older lawyer cleared his throat, taken aback. "Ms. Woods... Fitzgerald. Your mother, Victoria, has requested your presence."

"Requested?" Arla leaned against the doorframe. "Her messages sounded more like a summons."

"The terms of your grandfather's trust are clear," the lawyer said, stiffly. "You are to present yourself at the family estate."

"Fine," Arla said. She grabbed a small, battered duffel bag. "Let's go."

The limousine pulled up to the iron gates of the Fitzgerald estate. The metal was rusting at the hinges. The ivy was overgrown, choking the stone pillars. It looked like money that had died ten years ago.

The security guard took five minutes to verify her name, looking at her like she was a delivery driver at the wrong address. Finally, the gate groaned open.

Arla was escorted up the cracked limestone steps. She didn't knock. The lawyer did.

The housekeeper opened the door. Her lip curled. "You."

Arla pushed past her into the foyer.

Victoria Fitzgerald was sitting on the velvet sofa in the drawing room, sipping tea. She looked up, her eyes scanning Arla from her windblown hair to her scuffed boots.

"So the prodigal trash returns," Victoria said. She didn't put down her cup. "I'm surprised the lawyers managed to drag you out of whatever gutter you were living in."

Arla stood in the center of the room. The Persian rug was threadbare in spots.

"The will states I have to be present on my twenty-fifth birthday to unlock the shares," Arla said. "I'm here."

Victoria slammed the cup onto the saucer. The china clattered dangerously. She stood up, a cloud of cloying floral perfume rising with her.

"You're here to sign the marriage contract with the Winters family, as stipulated," Victoria hissed, walking over until she was inches from Arla's face. "Do not speak unless spoken to. Do not think for one second you belong here. You are a tool. Nothing more."

Arla kept her face neutral. "I have no intention of enjoying the family reunion."

Victoria's hand twitched. She raised it, palm open.

Arla didn't flinch. She shifted her weight back, just an inch.

Victoria swung. Her hand hit empty air. She stumbled, her heavy jewelry clanking.

"Save your energy, Victoria," Arla said softly. "You need my signature on the release forms."

Victoria's face turned a mottled red. She pointed a manicured finger toward the back of the house. "The old staff quarters. West wing. That's where you'll stay."

Arla picked up her duffel bag. "Fine."

She walked toward the dark hallway. She didn't feel humiliated. She felt focused.

Inside the small, dusty room, she sat on the narrow cot. The air was stale. She placed her bag on the floor. It contained nothing but a change of clothes and a single, encrypted hard drive.

She didn't need anything else.