Two Years Earlier

  The reading of the old man’s will was a quiet affair. Most of the older people had left the funeral home after paying their respects. Some had to be politely ushered out by the Executor of the will, a stuffy looking old lawyer by the name of Stonewell. He was a rotund man in a very nice suit that struggled to hold back his enormous bulk. Watery blue eyes set in a wrinkly and flabby face gave the man the look of an emotionally fragile old fellow who might collapse into tears at any moment. This impression was immediately contradicted the moment he opened his mouth and shooed the others away in a pompous and nasally voice that grated a little on Hardgrave’s ears. The only hair he possessed was a poofy grey mustache, and Daniel found himself irritated enough with Stonewell’s attitude that he was contemplating tugging on the silly looking thing. He turned a little and saw Lucy watching at the old man with a similar annoyance. When she looked over and caught his eye, he gave her a quick wink which she reciprocated with a small smile before looking away.

  When the room was finally clear, there were only a few figures left present. Daniel, Lucy, and Marie had stayed, along with Augustus Freeway and a few older townies, whom Daniel recognized as his grandfathers particularly close buddies. With their privacy secured, Stonewell reached into a briefcase and picked out a small sheaf of paper. It would have been a rare sight anywhere else in the Imperium, but many of the old fellows around here were still happy to use paper on formal or special occasions. Only Lucy gave a slight gasp in interest and surprise as Stonewell held the paper up and began to read. Once he’d gotten past the basic legalize, he moved on to explaining what each person had received. One of the old men seemed ecstatic to receive Roger’s sailing gear and equipment, while another was given an old Hoverbike. The most entertaining gift and message of the bunch went to Freeway:

  “To Gus Freeway, I leave my liquor collection. So long as he promises to share it with the boys.”

  Stonewell read the informal statement with all the ceremony of an Imperial decree, but the Lieutenant just casually raised a glass in acknowledgement. The reminder of the man sent Daniel back onto a small emotional roller-coaster. His grandfather had been a Pioneer. The same grandfather who had warned him against joining the force whenever he could. Daniel had been grappling with this info the whole funeral, and he was still coming to terms with the betrayal. A part of him wanted to make excuses for his grandfather, while another couldn’t forgive the hypocrisy. He would give anything for a few more hours with the old man, if only to confront him about it. But Daniel’s emotional turmoil did nothing to slow Stonewell down as the lawyer continued:

  “And to John, I leave all my remaining properties and cash assets. Everything in my country house, from the first floor and above, is his, along with everything left over elsewhere. If it can’t go to him, for whatever reason, then it should go to little Lucy instead.”

  Ouch. Another slap in the face. Daniel had known that the old man had had a lot of money, and he would have liked a little of it at least. Still, it made sense that his biological grandkid would be his real heir. Fighting back any visible signs of anguish, he looked over at Lucy and Marie to give them a quiet thumbs up. Neither lady was looking at Daniel, however, and he noticed something bizarre. Both girls had gone a little pale and were wearing strange expressions on their faces. They had collectively closed their eyes and deflated in their chairs, and it took Daniel a little time to figure it out. Both women looked relieved. Not a normal relieved, but the kind of relief that a defendant feels when he’s spared the firing squad. Confusion churned alongside regret and sadness as he watched, but the final twist was still waiting for him:

  “And last but not least, I leave everything in the basement of the country house to Danny. I think he’ll find it instructive.

  That is all.”

  And with that Stonewell was silent for a few moments. He opened his suitcase and placed the papers back inside before withdrawing a SmartPad. With a scrunched-up expression, he tapped clumsily on the Pad, then further pronounced:

  “I will send each of you a prepared agreement, indicating your ownership of the relevant items, which you must sign. This will indicate your consent…”

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  Daniel tuned him out as the lawyer droned on, thoughts a sickening whirlwind of emotion. He mechanically pulled out his Pad and found the agreement in his email. After everyone had signed, the older folk began ambling out of the funeral home. Daniel met the gaze of Lieutenant Freeway, who gave him a stiff salute before marching off. Once the lawyer had waddled out of the room, it was only Daniel, the usher, and the two girls still in the parlor. Both Marie and Lucy were glued to Lucy’s Pad, reading and re-reading the nature of the agreement with a narrow, concerned focus. Daniel tip-toed over, trying not to disturb them but too curious to just let the matter go. Marie was the first to notice his presence, looking up from the Pad and smiling cordially in greeting, before Lucy did the same. Daniel, however, was the first to speak:

  “Congrats! The old ma-, err, Grandpa Hardgrave did very well for himself. You should be set for life, now.”

  Marie nodded in acknowledgement:

  “Master Hardgrave was quite successful, yes. Lucy is very grateful for everything he has given her.”

  There was an awkward pause as Daniel watched her expectantly, reluctant to ask the obvious next question. Yet he was still curious. If the inheritance was that good, then why did she look like she had just dodged a bullet? Marie, for her part, seemed to know exactly what he was thinking, but she was reluctant to volunteer the info. They sat there, caught in conversational limbo, until Lucy tugged at the hem of her dress. When Marie gave her young charge her attention, Lucy spoke softly yet firmly, seemingly resolved about something:

  “You can tell him.”

  Marie nodded and turned back to Daniel:

  “Master Jonathan was a man who meant well, but he had certain…indiscretions.”

  “Daddy was a gambler. A gambling addict, in fact.”

  Lucy piped up before going back to reading the Pad, face now cast with the same melancholy it had possessed when she’d talked about her parent’s passing. Marie nodded in assent:

  “Indeed. Due to Imperium law, her father’s outstanding liabilities were passed down to the young Mistress when he died. Even after liquidating all of Master Jonathan’s assets, those debts were still crushing. Now, with this…”

  “It’s just enough. Barely.”

  Lucy interrupted again, looking up and giving Daniel a shaky smile:

  “Grandpa handed us enough that we can pay off the debt, with a little left over. We’ll have to sell the house, though. Sorry.”

  She was nice enough to look apologetic about that, and Daniel understood why. He’d spent most of his childhood in that country house. He truly wasn’t bitter about the loss, all things considered, but there was still the lingering sense of a gut punch that he just couldn’t shake as he responded:

  “You have nothing to be sorry about! Seriously, nothing. You’re Grandpa Hardgrave’s real grandkid, anyways, and you need the money more than I do, so-“

  Daniel was interrupted in his response by the feeling of a small, warm hand slipping into his palm. A little shocked, he glanced down at Lucy’s hand in his, then looked back up to meet her storm grey eyes. They gazed at him with a maturity and a warmth far beyond their years, and he found himself relax a little under that gaze:

  “You’re Grandpa’s family as well. Whatever his mistakes, Grandpa had a big heart. Even if he kept you a secret from us, he still went out of his way to take you in. After all that, I’m sure he loved you just as much as me. He just knew I needed more help.”

  They stayed like that for a few moments before Daniel averted his eyes and let go of her hand. He gave a small cough in embarrassment. He was supposed to be the one comforting her:

  “Thanks. That’s nice of you to say.”

  There was another pause, before he moved to change the subject:

  “Where are you planning on living, now? I guess you needed to sell your dad’s house to pay off the debt, right?”

  He winced a little when he finished that sentence. Tact had never been his strong suit, and that had been a personal and sensitive question. Fortunately, neither woman looked perturbed, and it was Marie who stepped in and answered:

  “We’ll have to sell most of Master Hardgrave’s assets, but he did own something we could use and that we don’t need to sell. A small apartment in Ankara, one that should have enough room for just the two of us. I have a contact in the city that should be able to help me find work there.”

  Lucy was nodding, clearly on the same page as her guardian. Rude or otherwise, now Daniel was intrigued:

  “If you don’t mind me asking, where is this apartment? I live in the big city as well.”

  Lucy checked her Pad:

  “206 Matterhorn Rd. Apartment 413.”

  Daniel’s eyes widened:

  “No kidding. That’s my building. It’s just a floor above my place.”

  “It’s not that strange. I think Grandpa knew the landlord. If you used his connections to get a place in the city, it makes sense you would get an apartment in that building.”

  Daniel looked from Lucy, to Marie, then back to Lucy:

  “…Then I guess we’re new neighbors, right?”

  Lucy gave him a mischievous grin, a genuine thing with more than a smidgeon of real happiness:

  “Yup!”