MrTemptation (2 page)

Victoria held the thick envelope in front of Cadence.

Cadence grabbed the envelope, careful not to touch the long
slender fingers, the nails painted the color of dried blood, reminding her of
daggers.

All she could think of was,
How fitting
.

Victoria sat down and folded her hands in her lap.

Cadence opened the clasp, acutely aware three pairs of eyes
were burning a hole into her. She almost shoved the papers back into the
envelope. Why look now? Why not wait until she was alone and could actually
concentrate on the words?

Cadence closed her eyes. She’d better get a grip on herself.
Victoria was counting on a complete collapse. Her stepmother knew exactly what
she was doing. She knew how Cadence was suffering, expected it, was probably
enjoying it.

She opened her eyes and focused on the documents in her
hands.

The first paper was the marriage certificate of one Edward
C. Burke and Victoria F. Hahn. The second document declared that her father had
legally adopted both of Victoria’s children. She gulped. Seeing the legal
documents brought back some of the worst memories of her life.

She glanced up to see their smug smiles, and bile
immediately tainted her throat. They hated her. The feeling was mutual. She’d
been only too glad for her years away at school but she realized now what her
contentment had cost.

She swallowed hard and forced herself to keep looking
through the documents that revealed how her father had been manipulated. Why
hadn’t he told her about the change to his will? Why had he left Cadence out of
the loop on an important legal decision?

The papers appeared to be legit but why had her father made
the change? Could Victoria be telling the truth? Had he meant to exclude his
only daughter?

Cadence shook her head. It simply couldn’t be true. She
brushed aside the dark thoughts threatening to paralyze her and she moved on to
the next document.

The will, dated January 4 of this year, only months before
Edward Burke’s death, stated Victoria was indeed the trustee of his estate.
Cadence sucked in her breath and clenched the piece of paper in her shaking
hands.

“I assure you it was your father’s decision to make the
changes to his will,” Victoria said.

“That’s for the court to decide,” Cadence said between
gritted teeth.

She continued reading. Farther down it claimed that “their”
children, Cadence, Sybil and Cyrus, were to each receive a stipend to live off,
the amount open to Victoria’s discretion, and all school fees and living
expenses for Cadence were to be paid for by Victoria until she graduated.

Victoria had performed her duties. She’d paid Cadence’s
tuition and given her an allowance that had been barely enough to pay her
bills.

“Of course the stipend ends today,” Victoria said after
Cadence finished reading and looked up. She made a helpless gesture. “You
understand there’s little money to spare in these difficult times.”

“My father was worth millions,” Cadence replied.

“Unfortunately, the cost of living in the city takes
millions.”

“Spit it out, Victoria. You’ve kept me in suspense long
enough.”

Cyrus chuckled. Victoria stopped him with one of her looks.

Victoria turned back to Cadence and smiled. “’Obviously, my
obligation to you is done. I’m afraid you’re on your own.”

Cadence feigned indifference. She could make it on her own
if need be. She was a smart woman, well-educated and had enough contacts to
gain successful employment. Heck, she’d work at the local grocery store if she
had to. She didn’t want to be indebted to Victoria one cent.

How could her father have done such a thing? How could he
give these children, who weren’t his, the rights to the money that had come
largely from her mother’s estate?

Anger boiled within her. She suppressed the urge to crumple
up the papers and toss them on her mother’s Aubusson carpet. She would speak to
a lawyer tomorrow. She wasn’t leaving the city until she had some answers.

She held out hope there was something left of her mother’s
estate. Father must have made other arraignments for her share. He’d promised
her she would be taken care of. Would he have really been so cruel as to cut
her completely out of his will? There was only one explanation that made sense.
This terrible woman had let a sick old man believe his daughter didn’t need any
help from them.

Cadence stuffed the papers back into the envelope and stood.

“You forgot to read the last one, my dear,” Victoria said,
smooth as silk, a sneer spread over her controlled features in a grotesque way.

“I’ll read it later.”

“Read it now.”

Cadence narrowed her eyes. She’d always hated how the woman
caught her lip in her teeth before she snickered. She did so now.

Cadence pulled the papers back out of the envelope and
flipped to the last one. Her mouth dropped open and her knees weakened. She
quickly managed to get control of her legs before she fell to the ground but she
couldn’t control the roaring in her head.

The document stated that Cadence’s condo belonged to her
stepmother.

Unbelievable! What a way to kick her when she was down.
Victoria certainly was the epitome of an evil stepmother. But even still, how
could her father have done this to her?

“You must admit I’ve been generous, allowing you to live
rent free all these years,” Victoria said.

Cadence returned the papers to the envelope with a vengeance
and shoved it into her purse. Deep breaths. She needed to keep taking deep
breaths. Calm herself. Find her center.

“Why didn’t he tell me about the condo?”

“He was a very busy man, then I suppose later on it just
slipped his mind.” Victoria smiled cruelly. “So now you know, you may thank
me.”

White light flashed before her eyes and Cadence squeezed
them tightly shut.

One, two, three…
She opened her eyes and focused on
the oak credenza just behind Victoria’s shoulder. If she looked at the woman,
she would lose her self-control and wring her liposuctioned neck.

“I have no intention of thanking you for anything.”

“Suit yourself.” Victoria shrugged. The look on her face
showed she didn’t really care whether Cadence was grateful or not.

Victoria Burke was a formidable enemy. She had won.

Or so she thought.

Cadence remembered the business card her father’s law
partner had given her. He’d told her to call the number on the card if she
needed help. Had he known about the new will or had he guessed Victoria would
pull something like this?

The condo, her condo, had been in her mother’s family for
years. This conniving woman had stolen it from her. How could her father have
done this? The properties, the business, they were her mother’s, not his to
give away. Despite what the documents said, Cadence just couldn’t believe they
were legal.

How could Father have let this woman manipulate him?

“Come along, children, our business is finished. Your sister
is leaving.” She stood, head held high. “Show yourself out, will you, my dear?”

The twins shuffled after their mother, although both kept
their toothy grins turned in Cadence’s direction. It looked almost as if they
were drooling in anticipation of a breakdown. Sybil followed her mother but
Cyrus leered at her from behind rimless glasses.

She’d like to sock him right in his smirking face.

His gaze crept slowly up and down her body, sending a chill
through her.

Prick.

She rolled her eyes and frowned at him, making sure to show
her disgust. He only laughed at her and ran his tongue along his bottom lip.
She shuddered.

“Oh, Cadence, there is one more thing.”

One, two, three…

Cadence stopped and Victoria turned around.

“What else before I vomit?”

“Don’t be crude, dear. It’s not ladylike.”

Cyrus giggled.

“I expect you to be out of the condo by the end of the week.
I’ve scheduled decorators to come and remodel. I intend to put the place on the
market as soon as possible.”

Cadence’s composure broke. She’d reached her limit. “Where
will I go?”

Victoria smiled. “Wherever you like. You are not my concern
anymore.”

She left in a rush, breathless and exhausted, like a runner
finishing a race. Except this marathon had just begun. When she reached the
street, she dug her phone and the card Father’s business partner had given her
out of her bag and called the number.

Victoria thought Cadence was powerless, that the law was on
her side.

Two could play that game.

* * * * *

Preston Night’s first appointment of the day was a name he
recognized from his past. Cadence Burke, the only daughter of Mayor Edward
Burke, was his nine o’clock, according to Muriel at the front desk, who had
said the client insisted it was an emergency.

He wondered what Cadence wanted. As he looked out his office
window at the million-dollar view of the Chrysler Building and the bustle of
Midtown below him, he remembered the last time he’d seen her was at her
mother’s funeral, which had been a public spectacle.

Cadence’d been sixteen—he was a sophomore at Princeton. He’d
watched at a distance as the bereaved Burke family left the church, followed by
a cadre of reporters. The world had mourned her loss. She became the media’s
darling that day.

She was his first crush, his first heartbreak. Her father
had run for mayor, carried into office on public sympathy. Cadence the
untouchable, he’d thought of her then.

The mayor’s daughter had always been surrounded by admirers.
He’d seen her on television after that, her growing up at Gracie Mansion, her
beaux, her every move covered by eager reporters for the gossip rags.

He’d watched and often wondered if she was happy in the
spotlight, or was her constant smile pretense? Did she have close friends who
loved her, or did people get close to her for their own gain, for bragging
rights?

That had been a long time ago.

He left his office and knocked on his mother’s door. She
bade him enter. Mom was dressed in a dark-blue silk suit, her hair done neatly
in a twist at the nape of her neck, her jewelry modest pearls. In the bright
light, he could see the dark patches underneath her eyes. She wasn’t sleeping
again, a worry, but he wasn’t foolish enough to mention it.

“Court today?” he asked.

She closed up her laptop and tucked it inside a leather
case. “A society divorce.”

“A big fee?”

“Enormous,” his mother replied.

Preston didn’t mind sorting out the messes rich people got
into. The billable hours made it worth his while.

“Do you remember Cadence Burke?” he asked.

Mom smiled. “Of course I do. Sadly, I lost touch with her
after her mother died. Why do you ask?”

“She’s coming in this morning.”

“She’s asking for representation?”

“That’d be my guess.”

Mother looked thoughtful. “At last.”

Preston was surprised. “You expected her?”

“For some time.”

“Care to fill me in?” Preston sat on the edge of her desk.

“I can’t right now. You’ll have to look at her file. It’s in
the locked cabinet.”

“It’s a matter of some delicacy?” Preston asked.

“And secrecy,” she replied. She took a small key out of her
purse and handed it to him.

“Now I’m intrigued,” he said. Even if this was an unusual
case with complications, he could handle rich women, and more often than not he
enjoyed doing so.

“How old would she be?” Mother asked. “Twenty-four,
twenty-five?”

“Twenty-six on June 10,” Preston answered.

His mother searched his face. Preston didn’t bother to
pretend Cadence meant nothing to him. His mother knew him too well.

Mother shouldered her bag. “I suppose she has questions
about her mother’s estate.”

“Why wouldn’t she go to her father’s attorney? Wasn’t all
the money put in his trust after her mother died?”

His mother looked at him with a twinkle in her eyes. “Not
all.”

Preston stood. “Then that’s why she’s here. She wants her
money.”

He opened the door and she exited.

“Walk with me to the elevator,” she said.

Preston fell in beside her.

“Make sure you take a look at all of the Burke file before
Cadence gets here. There’s important information you need to know.”

He checked his watch. “Hopefully I’ve got enough time.”

“I’d love to see Audra’s girl again,” his mother confessed.

“Are you sure you want me to take this meeting? You knew her
mother better than I did.”

“I suspect this appointment is too important to postpone.
Besides, I have complete confidence in your abilities to break good news to a
client.”

“Good news, is it?” he asked.

“I’d say so, although I haven’t added up the accounts in a
while.”

Preston was relieved that Cadence would leave his office
with a hefty sum at her disposal. She might even be grateful.

Who was he kidding? She hadn’t given him a second glance
growing up. Gratitude wasn’t in a rich girl’s vocabulary. The mayor’s daughter
had a league of men at her disposal and Preston wasn’t the type to take a
ticket and wait his turn.

Of course, she was no longer a girl. He was no longer a
lovesick adolescent watching from the sidelines.

“I’ll get up to speed and take the appointment,” Preston
assured her.

“Good.” His mother pushed the down button for the elevator.
“Handle this case with care. We both owe Audra Burke a great deal.”