The Trust

Chapter 11: The Heiress

"It's a scam."

I told Father Jake the whole story — about being whisked away to a fancy resort, the expensive dinner, the spa and the announcement complete with fireworks. He listened patiently until I was finished and shook his head.

"You're all being conned, Darcey. I'm sorry."

"No, no. You don't understand. This is my uncle Rob." I think about the gold locket he bought for my 16th birthday, when my own father never sent me anything. "He's a stand-up guy. Rob would never do something like that to his family."

"Well, Uncle Rob is being scammed then. Either way, when something seems too good to be true, it usually is. You say this happened last week—where's the money then?"

I feel defensive. "Uncle Rob is still in New York, tying up the details. There's a big lawsuit involved, he said it might take weeks to get things sorted out."

"Uh huh." Jake folded his arms. 

"Look, Rob's been texting us all week. He's almost through with the red tape and the money should be transferred by the end of the month at the latest."

"And you say he gave you all a cheque for $250,000 and said don't cash it yet? Sounds fishy Darce, come on. Do you realize how much money he'd have to have to be giving away this kind of cash? How many people did you say were in this trust?"

"I don't know. Eight or nine."

"Right."

I held off on telling him the story for just this reason. I happen to have the world's most cynical priest for a best friend. For someone with such a strong faith in God, he doesn't have much faith in humanity.

He sighed. "I hope it's all true, Darcey. In the meantime, give your Mom this." He hands over Mom's pension cheque. "Tell her when she's got a million in the bank, she can start dropping off donations like this. Until then, she should keep her money."

"Oh, I'll tell her alright, when I find her," I say, tucking the slip of paper into my purse. "Audrey says she's not home, I don't know where she is. I tried calling, but she's not picking up."

"She took a cab into the city," he says.

"What?!" A cab into the city costs a fortune. How can she pay for it if she doesn't have her pension money? I feel a knot of anxiety growing in my stomach.

"Yeah. Said she was going off to have some fun."

"Oh no." My heart sinks into my toes. "I know where she is." I curse under my breath. "I've gotta go get her before she does something reckless."

"Want some company?"

"Sure. She might not listen to me, but she'll do anything you say."

"Let's go."

The drive to the city takes about a half hour and I realize I haven't spoken for most of it. I'm thinking about what Jake said. As much as I want to believe in this money, everything he's saying makes sense. What if someone is scamming my uncle? I worry for him and the rest of the family who are waiting on this money like it's a miracle from God. And how much would Rob need to have to give this much away — millions? Billions?

Finally, Jake speaks.

"You do know this isn't real. Right? I mean even logistically; it makes no sense. Have you Googled recent patent cases? A settlement this large would be a matter of public record; it would be covered in the press."

"Right," I say, still lost in thought. I'd been trying not to think about the money all week, I even resisted talking about it even though the family could talk about nothing else. I decided to adopt a 'wait and see' attitude, reserving my excitement for when the money was in the bank. Still, it didn't keep me from daydreaming about what I'd do with it — how great it would feel to pay off what remained of the mortgage, wipe my debts clean, pay Audrey's tuition and maybe take a trip to celebrate. Hawaii would be nice this time of year.