Life in Color ✔️

39~ Decisions

"Scarlett, I believe you've already met Joe Hudson." Dave says.

I shake Joe's hand before he sits down, a new wave of nerves flooding through me. I thought it was just going to be us. "Indeed, we have."

Dave clears his throat, finally opening the first file on his desk. "Three months before your parents died they had a new Will made. Were you aware of this?"

I shake my head, I was a little preoccupied not that they would've told me anything. That would've been right around the time my Abuela died, death was a touchy subject.

He smiles reassuringly, "I can tell you what the Will states or you can read it for yourself."

I bite my cheek, do I trust myself to read it right? Come on Scarlett, this is one of the last things your parents asked of you, toughen up. "I'll read it."

He slides a cream file in my direction. I open it with shaky hands, my eyes scanning the words anxiously. I read it three times just to be sure.

"I don't understand." There's no way in hell I'm reading that correctly.

"Clarify." Dave says and I feel bad, there's so much to decipher.

"The amount of money, it's impossible that they had that much in savings." I state, that's thousands of dollars, maybe even a million if I didn't count the commas correctly. My parents were well off but that's just outrageous.

"They didn't have that much, two years ago." I stare at him to continue, "Your parents both were owners and investors in Gaea Corporations, correct?"

I nod my head, that's Uncle John's now extremely successful company he started with my parents around the time I was born.

"Their ownership was split between the five of you. The interest builds up, plus your parents made a few other investments that panned out in their favor. They saved all of it, mainly living off of what they made in their daily jobs. This doesn't include your personal savings, which is now fully owned by John."

I blink my eyes profusely, this is all news to me. Not that it's surprising. My parents gave us a good life, always making sure we had what we needed and things we wanted but they never went overboard. Children should never be spoiled by money when there is so much goodness in the world, my mom told me that one night when I asked her why Avery got a phone and I didn't.

She would know, her entire life she had been surrounded by old money and she ended up making her own. It makes me happy to know not one drop is from Earl and Edna, they took away her trust fund when she married dad.

I read the fine print once more, "The house, as in the house I currently live in, is mine?"

"Yes. It's been paid off so you will own it free and clear." Dave nods his head.

"Holy shit." I mutter is disbelief, embarrassed when Joe busts out laughing. Here I am making a fool out of myself as I attempt to take responsibility.

There's so much written here, our family beach house in Miami. Specific things left to us individually but there's on line that sticks out amongst the rest. I re-scan the last lines of the paper, there's no way.

"Am I supposed to get guardianship?" My voice is a whisper, afraid to be wrong.

Dave clasps his hands together. "Yes, and this is where Joe comes in."

I look at Joe with wide eyes, my heart beating up a storm. No more Karen. No more Earl and Edna. No more family dinners and living in constant fear of getting in trouble.

We could be free.

"I've already spoken to child services and the worker in charge of your case. Given your circumstances, the transition should be smooth sailing, if that's what you want."