Eden in Winter Read Online Free PDF Page A

Reading his expression, she added softly, ‘For all of us, I suppose.’
    ‘Then brace yourself, Mother. Because there’s more.’ He sat back, speaking in the same clipped tone. ‘The will contest has become more complex than you know. Thanks to me, you won’t get caught trying to pass off the post-nup Ben forced you to sign as misplaced self-actualization. On the other hand, I’m now aware of the truth – that you got plenty of “consideration” for signing it, from continuing to live here to concealing the messy facts surrounding my birth. And I suspect that Carla Pacelli knows that, too.’
    Clarice looked stricken. ‘Ben told her?’
    ‘I’m pretty sure he did. So, if you contest his bequest to Carla, I can’t lie about that. Right now you’ve got a decent shot at overturning Ben’s will. But, between Carla and me, you could wind up with nothing. So here’s what you’re going do:
    ‘First, your lawyer will offer Carla a settlement of three million dollars, on which you’re also paying the estate taxes—’
    ‘No,’ Clarice protested. ‘I refuse to treat her as an equal.’
    ‘You’ve got no choice,’ Adam said coldly. ‘So feel grateful to get by with that. Carla’s got a real chance of walking off with everything. At a minimum, she’ll get almost two million for her son – who, by the way, is Teddy’s brother, Jack’s nephew and my cousin. All of us need to see to his well-being. This family has inflicted enough misery on its own.’
    He paused a moment, allowing Clarice time to absorb this, then looked from his mother to Jack. ‘The two of you will have more than enough to live here. Though if I were you, I’d sell this place. The karma leaves a lot to be desired.’
    Clarice seemed to blanch. ‘How do you know that Carla will agree?’
    ‘Because I’m developing a sense of her. In fact, despite my best efforts, I may have a better grasp of Carla Pacelli than I have of either one of you. That’ll give me food for thought on the flight back to Afghanistan.’ Briefly, he paused, watching the stunned look in his parents’ eyes. ‘If she consents to this, as I think she will, we’re settling Ben’s estate. Are all of us agreed?’
    Clarice looked at Jack, who nodded. Facing Adam, his mother retrieved some of her composure, accenting the sadness in her eyes. ‘I still look at you, Adam, and see him. The same iron will, the same belief that you can bend the world to your ends.’
    Despite himself, Adam discovered, comparisons to Benjamin Blaine still pierced him. ‘Better ends, I hope – especially yours and Jack’s. But I’d appreciate it if both of you disappeared for the next few hours. I really do need to be alone.’
    *
    At ten o’clock that morning, Adam had gone to see Carla Pacelli.
    She was waiting for him on the deck, a light breeze rippling her hair. Pregnancy had done nothing to diminish her beauty – that of an Italian-American brunette with dark, intense eyes, tempered by hardship, giving her an aura of sadness and self-knowledge. Smiling a little, she said, ‘Thanks for calling. It gave me time to dress.’
    Then I regret that
, Adam might have said in another life. But he felt way too tired, and even more confused. At length, he said, ‘I had to see you.’
    It came out sounding wrong, not as he intended. Carla regarded him gravely. ‘You really do look awful.’
    ‘And feel worse,’ he admitted. ‘How long have you known that I wasn’t Ben’s son?’
    Briefly she looked down, then met his eyes with new directness. ‘For months now.’
    Adam shook his head in disbelief. ‘And yet you had the grace not to tell me. Even though Ben’s will had made us enemies.’
    ‘It wasn’t my place,’ she answered in a level tone. ‘And you were never quite my enemy. It was a little more complex between us, I thought.’
    This was true, Adam realized. ‘Still, you could have warned me off anytime you wanted to. All you needed was to tell the