“It’s not your fault,” I tell him. “I guess it’s what we call payback.”
“Do you want to come over and we spend the day studying here or at the library?” he asks, most likely in an attempt to change the subject.
“Um, I have a few things to do today, but we’ll see each other on Friday for the check-up.”
“Alright, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me.”
“Thanks for everything, Matt.” My voice is lower than usual, but it’s mainly because I don’t want Maria to hear me. “I really appreciate your support.”
“Always, girl,” he answers just as low.
As soon as we hang-up, I hear the doorbell echoing across the condo and footsteps walking through the hallway to open the door. That’s odd, it’s not even one-thirty. Why would Dad arrive half an hour earlier? There’s a glimmer of hope, thinking maybe it’s Alex who decided to come back. I leave the terrace and hurry up to check. Unfortunately, and to my greatest displeasure, I see Carice, who steps in, carrying a few files with her. Oh shit! I had totally forgotten I had agreed to meet her for lunch.
Despite wearing her usual black suit, with a black turtle neck underneath and matching glasses, she looks a lot less stern than yesterday, maybe a bit more relaxed too. I imagine the death of her best friend must have left her in a state of near-depression, but she seems to be coping with it relatively okay. As her eyes set on me, she gives me a bright smile and paces in my direction.
“You didn’t forget about our meet-up at one, right?” she asks, visibly amused.
“Of course not,” I answer, walking forward to give her three cheek-kisses. Then I invite her to the terrace where we take a seat at the table.
After making some small talk, Carice takes a document from her files and says, “As you probably know, your mom had life insurance so that if something happened to her, you could receive the fund to pay for the expenses of the funeral, and keep the rest for you.” I nod at her, and she glances once more at the document before proceeding. “The insurance company received all the paperwork this morning, so you should receive around two million and four hundred euros in your account in the next two weeks.” My jaw drops at her announcement. Wow. I never thought Mom had such a high coverage, which leads me to believe she knew sooner or later that she’d die at their hands. She was most likely planning her death a long time ago.
Then Carice takes another file and says, “Regarding the nonprofit, your mom was the managing director and main owner of the organization. Since you’re now the new titular, I was wondering if you’d like to appoint a new director?”
My brows raise at her question. I find it touching that despite Carice being my mom’s best friend, she still decided to leave her nonprofit to me—which I barely know anything about. “Oh, um, would you be interested in taking over in my place?” I ask her. Carice immediately stares at me with astonishment, so I try my best to convince her, before she can make up her mind. “I know you work there as an attorney, but you were also my mom’s best friend, and she trusted you a lot. I’m pretty sure she’d have wanted for you to take over the organization.”
Her lips curve up in appreciation, and she remains silent for a while, considering my proposal. “I think you are right. We can expend the legal team, get some new lawyers on board, and I’ll take over the management.”
“I could also donate a million euros from my Mom’s insurance to the nonprofit,” I say. “With such a capital injection, it should give you some room to operate, right?”
Now she stares at me with her mouth agape. “Oh, wow. That’s…” She pauses, searching for the best words to put on. “Well, that’s very kind of you, but this is a lot.”
“How many months can you last with it?” I ask.
“I haven’t checked the finances of the company, but I’d say around eighteen months.”
“Well, then, that’s plenty of time to keep the firm afloat and to expand it. My mom loved her nonprofit and I’m sure she’d have wanted to grow it further.” I notice some glitz in her gaze as she listens to me talking. “Do you have a team that takes care of fundraising?”
“We do, but we raise money mostly through charity events where we invite family offices, NHW individuals, and so on. Your mom used to host them.” There’s the faint of a smile settling on her lips as she recalls those memories. “She was such a great host. They used to write us big checks thanks to her charisma.”
I smile tenderly at her words; despite knowing Mom used to attend many charity events, I never thought those events were to fundraise for her nonprofit. “I’m sure you’ll manage to do the same, regardless of her being here or not,” I say, keeping my voice warm.
A few instants of silence ensues while Carice takes some notes before proceeding. “About the funeral, did you decide on the location?”
“Yes, we’ll do it in Bedford Hills this Sunday and Father Thomas already confirmed he’ll fly over on Saturday. Emma is getting a mortician and an event planner so that we can have a beautiful setting in her honor.”
“Oh, that's great. Good job,” she praises, as she ticks off some of the things on her list. “As you might know, Eric’s office did a press release yesterday and your mom’s death has been communicated to the Dutch media too. A few reporters would like to attend the funeral and cover it. I know them personally, would that be okay with you?”
“Yes, of course. Just let me know how many people from your side will attend so that we can arrange everything properly,” I tell her.
“From my side, I can confirm at least twenty people––from friends and coworkers––can attend. Then maybe five reporters and their cameramen will go on top of that.”
As I do the math, it seems like we will have around fifty people in total, which is perfect, since I didn’t want to do something too big.
“Good afternoon…”
I turn immediately, recognizing the male voice behind me and my eyes fall upon my dad, who looks more tired than usual, but just as elegant and formal.
“Hi, Dad,” I greet as we stand up. “Carice, this is my dad, Roy…”
“I know.” Carice stiffens up as she shakes his hand, a forced smile on her lips. All of a sudden though, someone’s phone starts ringing, but I know it’s not mine as it’s a different ringtone. Carice takes her phone and after checking who’s calling, leaves the table. “Excuse me,” she says as she walks past me and goes to a quieter area of the terrace.
Once we are left alone, Dad gives me a cheek-kiss and leans forward as if he’s about to whisper something.
“What is she doing here?” His tone is barely audible.
“Um, we are just taking care of the funeral and some details about Mom’s nonprofit,” I say.
Dad gives a quick glance over my shoulder, before proceeding, “Do you know what are they up to?”
I frown at his question. “What do you mean?”
“The Bradfords and Carice,” Dad says. “I imagine Alex is their suspect number one, no?”
“Yeah…” I let my words trail off as I consider him. “I think they’re gathering as much evidence as possible before the trial.”