7 Kills + An Apple

Twenty-Nine: A Will

Brandon Prince

Kalypso has been on the phone for the last hour or so. Her father is in the corner of the conference room, occasionally taking looks at his daughter. He looks thoughtful, rather than nervous and anxious like the rest of Kalypso's numerous cousins. I recognize her aunt, Nicola, who is Kalypso's father's younger sister. She is known as the dame with hundreds of diamonds on her finger. Her dark hair and olive skin reminds me of a young Maria Capello.

They call her father in. Then they call her aunt in. Once they go to Hagan's office, they don't come back out through the conference room. Nevertheless, Kalypso's cousins are talking about what they got from their grandmother. A brunette in the center of the room with no regards to her grandmother's death eagerly says, "Oh, my gosh. Earl got an estate. In China!"

With each announcement, Kalypso looks one more second to strangling her cousin. I myself wonder if I should hold her back when she finally explodes.

Luckily, Hagan calls Kalypso.

We walk together into his office, and I sit next to Kalypso. Kalypso sits down, and we listen to Hagan's hypnotic voice.

"'I, Maria Capello, give Kalypso Queen, my granddaughter, who is the child of Peggy Queen and Piero Capello, my entire jewelry collection which I gave to her for safekeeping in 2011. She may now do whatever she wishes with them.'"

Hagan pauses.

We both look to see Kalypso. Her eyes water, and she bursts into tears that obviously had been held back for numerous years. Hagan, as if he has done this many times, hands her the tissue box and softly asks, "Do you want to continue?"

"Just..." She chokes. "Give me a moment."

Not knowing what to do, I stand up and awkwardly put my hand on her shoulder. When she doesn't protest, I let myself relax. Good, I'm not going to get fired.

We give her a minute. Then two.

Her tears start slowing down.

"Please continue," she softly requests, dabbing at her eyes. "I can't believe this. It is just that I... lost the entire collection weeks ago. She gave it to me for safekeeping!" Then Kalypso chokes up, and I'm afraid she is going to cry all over again. Facing her, I quickly sit down and grab her hand, which is wet with salty tears.

"'I also bequeath the rest of my wine collection, which is currently being hold by Chase Bank for safekeeping. Any stocks I hold in Capello International will be handed over to Kalypso Queen. I also wish to give five hundred million dollars and all of my estates in Italy and England to her. She has visited my estates frequently and played there while she was a child. I hope they remind her of her childhood and that it is okay to be happy and free.'"

Then Hagan looks up from his desk, from where the will sits. "That is all Maria wrote for you. Any questions, Kalypso?"

"She had eight billion dollars," Kalypso starts.

Hagan's expression closes.

Kalypso continues, "By now, it would be about eleven billion from her investments and assets. What happened to ten point five billion dollars? Did they go to the charity she wanted?"

"Yes, they did go towards her charity," confirms Hagan, looking slightly suspicious. He narrows his eyes, as if suspecting Kalypso wanting those billions of dollars for herself. "Do you have any further questions?"

"Just..." She pauses. "Make sure the money gets there and they help the ones who really need it. Don't spend it on extravagant parties. Maria doesn't want that."