Addicted To Greed

by Catherine Putsche

  Ella

  Chapter 5

  Ella looked out of her tiny bedroom window rubbing the condensation whilst trying to adjust her sleepy eyes to the view she woke up with each morning! Thinking how she would miss this place soon, it had been home for over a decade. Gathering her dressing gown, quietly tiptoeing down the stairs so the children wouldn’t be disturbed from their sleep. She entered her small but modest kitchen in which there was still last night’s dishes neatly stacked and left by her eldest to be washed, assuring her before he went to bed last night that he would do them, once the movie he and his friends were watching ended. Reaching for the coffee pot on auto pilot, she needed a hit of caffeine in order to get her thoughts together at this time in the morning, it was her favorite time of the whole day, her sanctuary, the only time she got to myself these days with the demands of all her three children, who craved so much of her time, it was simply exhausting. All she ever craved for her children was a good man, a strong father figure, a guy she would often fantasize about at this time of the morning. Each father of her three children had been a sad disappointment, leaving at the time of each child’s birth or early stages of them been toddlers. She wanted a man who could withstand anything, a valiant solider, strong, disciplined, with the body of a gladiator. It didn’t really matter to her if he was not particularly hansom, she could deal with this as long as he would dedicate his life to her and her children and be forever faithful, and this was her biggest dream. However with her track record of men she was beginning to lose all faith, another passion of hers was money, money was her biggest love, and life was just a constant battle to get by on as little as possible, there wasn’t enough of it in their life’s to go round until her father recently died. She never dreamed she would be left the amount her father left her.

  Chase the youngest of her clan received twelve million pounds and after much deliberation decided to buy the house of his dreams and start up his own international electronics company. Destiny the middle child, received six million, due to falling out with their eccentric father several years before he died, put hers into a private account, a little unsure of what she was to do with it. Ella the eldest received a staggering sixteen million, as unfair as it was to her brother and sister, she never forgot the sheer look on shock on her sisters face when Mr Wallace her late father’s solicitor, read out the will and revealed the amount they were all awarded. She squeezed Destiny’s hand, consoling her, and then to everyone’s surprise Destiny shouted out.

  “I never thought he would be that unfair!” Ella could feel her sister’s hand shake with anger, but instructed Mr Wallace to go on with the other amounts their rich father left.

  Chase sat at the other side of Ella, he revealed a tight smile when he discovered what their father had left him, but expressed a look of concern and guilt over to Destiny. He also left Chase his private collection of antique grandfather clocks, he had collected for over fifty years. When Mr Wallace revealed the amount of money their father had left her she remembered becoming stiff in her chair, all her blood rushing to her head at once, the sudden rush of adrenaline flowing throughout her body, followed by a surge of excitement she had never experienced before. She couldn’t help letting go of Destiny’s hand and putting them both out in front of herself instructing Mr Wallace to repeat it to her again, forgetting her two younger siblings were also present, oblivious to the sheer look of discomfort of Wallace’s expression whilst glancing over to Destiny and Chase. Anthony Wallace reluctantly replied, “Sixteen million pounds, to be awarded to you Miss Ella!” coughing with embarrassment for her brother and sister, he continued with his list of their fathers personal collections, that went completely over her head. Each grandchild was granted five million, to be put into a trust until the age of twenty one. Ella was surprised to discover that her father had left her mother his entire collection of Brahms 3rd symphony and all his other classical music, the value reaching well over a million pounds, as many were originals, signed and sealed with the composers signature. Ella was in a complete whirl, dismissing the look of disbelief on Destiny’s face, until she approached her shortly afterwards as they were all departing Wallace’s Offices. “I am not cross with you Ella, I think you deserve it, you were

  always the favorite daughter. I hope you enjoy it, I never imagined I would receive this amount of money in my lifetime, and I had no idea our father had all this money. To be honest I’m in complete shock as what to do with it!”

  With this Ella gave Destiny a huge embrace and kissed her on the cheek, trying to hold her tears back as she witnessed Destiny’s swollen eyes.

  “I am sorry that you didn’t receive as much as Chase and me.” “It’s not your fault E lla, don’t worry, right now I couldn’t care less about the money, all I ever wanted was his love and approval, and no amount of money can give me that.”

  Ella found she was suddenly speechless and sensed Destiny’s need to leave, they both promised that they would call each other in the week. Ella was aware that poor Destiny was struggling with the fact her and their father had never made amends before his death. Ella felt for her so much, they were the closest sisters imaginable and was in contact daily over the telephone, the guilt Destiny was feeling was one of loss and regret the finality of death, its inability to communicate no longer. Ella knew Destiny was secretly mourning their father’s loss more so than Chase and herself.

  Chase finally approached Ella, putting his hand on her shoulder, biting his lower lip to hold the tears back and said,

  “Congratulations’ sis, spend it wisely! I love you, be sure to stay in touch, don’t go leaving the country in a hurry, and let me know your plans.”

  With this he gave Ella one of his killer smiles and departed, before she could summon the words to reply.

  Now her brother and sister had made their speedy departure, she shyly approached Wallace, as he ushered her to his desk. “Ella, my dear, you father asked me to give you these!” Wallace handed her three large brown envelopes, which were sealed and addressed to Destiny, Chase and herself! She couldn’t help feeling the enormous weight of them, which she found rather peculiar. Before she could enquire to what they were, Wallace broke his silence.

  “I was given strict instructions to give them to you Ella, your father also advised me in a letter to give you these in private, that upon opening yours, it would be your decision to pass them onto your brother and sister, he believed as you are the eldest, you’d know what to do with them.”

  Ella couldn’t help but think, how bizarre, why her? Why should she have these in her possession? Despite her been the eldest, she couldn’t understand her father’s logic, she wondered what they contained? Why the secrecy? Surely they were addressed to Destiny and Chase, why the hell were they not delivered to their rightful owners? She found herself again at a loss for words wondering if this could be the onset of shock at receiving such a staggering amount of money.

  “Ok thank you Mr Wallace, I don’t really understand why, however I do respect my father’s wishes.” “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for attending this meeting today; I appreciate that this must be very difficult for you with the sudden death of your father. As you know I worked for Wilhelm for over thirty years, and it was a complete honor and pleasure to work for such a noble man. I’d like to offer you and my wife’s sincere condolences in your time of grief, your father will be sadly missed by us all here at Wallace & Brothers, I have not only lost a great golf partner, the life and soul of any party, I have also lost a very loyal and honest best friend.”

  Wallace was trying his hardest to blink back the tears in order to remain professional. “Thank s Mr Wallace for your kind words, he admired you and often spoke about you and your wife, the wonderful Christmases you all spent together in Cumbria, your wife with her exceptional culinary skills and your fine taste in whisky and your funniest moments together on the golf pitch, as he assured me there was plenty.” She held out her hand towards Wallace and he quickly embr
aced it, with warm smile, keeping hold of her hand.

  “Please Ella don’t forget if there is anything, I can I do for you, please don’t hesitate to contact me, and congratulations’ on your new found wealth, if you need advice, I’d be more than happy to refer you to one of our finest investment brokers here at Wallace & Brothers. Here´s my card if you can’t reach me in the office and here´s home number, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

  As they embraced and were just about to say their goodbyes they were rudely interrupted by a fierce rapping on the door, a voice that seemed quite familiar was shouting out for Wallace.

  “Let me in this instance, Wallace, I am Felicity Pearson, Wilhelm’s wife; I demand you open this door right now!” Ella could hear that Wallace’s secretary was trying to deter the woman from gaining entry. Both Wallace and Ella exchanged worried expressions, she found herself nodding in approval towards Wallace to allow this woman’s requests. Wallace reluctantly opened the door. Ella came face to face with Felicity, her face was contorted and she was crying, she couldn’t understand what she was trying to say, she wasn’t looking at Wallace, she was staring directly at Ella with pure hatred in her eyes, the once beautiful goddess her father had married appearance had changed dramatically, her platinum blonde hair looked dirty and uncared for. Ella automatically noticed her dark brown roots, shocked as she thought she was a natural blonde until this moment. Where was all the makeup she used to apply? Her skin was dull and lifeless, no Arabian glow, where had it gone? What had happened to her?

  Felicity began to point her finger with anger at Wallace.

  “Where’s my money Wallace? Do you know he’s had my belongings removed from my home in the states before he died? He left me a measly eighteen million and said if I have any disputes I should take it up with you. I want what I am owed Wallace do you understand me?”

  Ella took a few steps back allowing herself to absorb all Felicity was screaming out. “Felicity, I understand your frustration but now isn’t the time or place for this as you’re aware this is a private meeting with your late husband’s siblings to discuss his will. Now if you will excuse us, I’ll have my secretary make you an appointment for a time that suits us both.”

  “How dare you dismiss me like this, I think you’ll find Wilhelm’s will is very much my business and I have every God given right to attend this cozy little meeting of yours!”

  “I’m afraid Felicity, I am acting on Wilhelm’s instructions, which stated in no certain terms you are not permitted to attend this meeting and in the event you do, I am to call security to remove you.”

  Ella couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of pity for this woman, although she despised her for taking her father away from her mother, she had to remember it was also her father’s choice to leave them, but she couldn’t understand what must of happened for her father and Wallace to treat Felicity this way? What had happened? She suddenly found herself in the middle of this bitter argument between the two of them and she couldn’t help herself interrupting.

  “I have no idea why you’re been treated like this Felicity and I can only apologise on behalf of my father for his instructions regarding his will, I really had no idea!”

  Before Ella could finish her sentence she was rudely interrupted by Felicity. “Oh don’t go playing the innocent with me, you must have been aware of your father’s intentions regarding his will, after all I don’t have to remind you that you were always his favorite, all those secret meetings he setup with you, he must of confided in you as we both know he was approaching his final days and his death was imminent.”

  “Let me tell you something Felicity, those meetings my father setup, I hardly ever attended and on the off chance I did it was never about his illness, in which he hid well from me, I had no idea until the night of his death that he was in the least bit ill and as far as the money is concerned, my father never discussed anything regarding his will or the value of inheritance he would leave us, both has come as quite a shock to me my brother and sister. So if you don’t mind been accused of something I had no knowledge about deeply offends me, especially from you.” “I don’t believe that for one moment Ella, he must have confided in you, he couldn’t have kept all this to himself!”

  Ella began to feel less and less sympathy for this woman, she didn’t owe her any explanations, she owed her nothing, now her father was dead she knew she didn’t have to tolerate her any longer and wasn’t going to let this bitch spoil her new found wealth.

  “Believe what you want to believe Felicity, I don’t owe you any explanations about my father’s money, you see when you stole our father from us all those years ago, you never gave us any explanations either, just carried on in your lavish lifestyle, without any thought of us. We were just children you choose to ignore, keeping our beloved father away from us and my mother. I’ll never forgive you for that and now for demanding to know about what provisions he has left us, it’s none of your God dam business, so if you’ll excuse me I have more pressing matters to deal with.”

  “May I remind you I am still your father’s wife and half of his money belongs to me? I will contest his will and see that you vile brats get nothing!”

  The blood came surging back to Ella s head, feeling a little disorientated with her balance, she knew her anger was building up and couldn’t control herself a moment longer. “Vile brats I don’t think so, how dare you insult any one of us?”

  Ella shouted with such force Wallace had to hold her back, she was going to launch her clenched fist right into Felicity’s plastic nose, after all she had it coming, she wasn’t going to just stand there and let her insult her family! She quickly launched herself at Felicity again and managed to slap her face with such force it knocked Felicity down on to her knees.

  “Take that you money grabbing bitch, don’t ever dare to insult, and threaten my family, or to take what is not legally yours again!”

  Wallace managed to pick Felicity up from the floor instructing her to leave, informing her that she had no place here, he also informed her that she had no right to her late husband’s money, property or businesses and that she was entitled to no more than the eighteen million that she had already received. The sheer look of defiance on Felicity’s face showed Wallace and Ella that she was by no means finished here. However before she got another chance to shoot off her mouth Wallace’s secretary entered with two security guards, who kindly escorted her out, screaming hysterically.

  “Mark my words Wa llace I’ll see you in court, and you Ella Pearson, this is common assault, you’ll be hearing from my attorney, I´ll be seeing you in court!”

  “I somehow doubt that Felicity.” Ella doubted Felicity’s ramblings a lthough somewhere inside of her she wasn’t entirely convinced. She forced herself to give Felicity a sweet innocent expression letting her know she wasn’t in anyway compromised by her threats. Waiting while Felicity was out of sight she found curiously asking, “Is there any way that bitch of a woman can take our money?”

  “Ella my dear, there’s no way she can do that, your father was very clever and this may come as a shock to you but before your father married Felicity, he had her sign a pre nuptial agreement stating that his money, property, and businesses would remain his in the event of his death and that she would receive a minimum percent of his wealth.”

  “Oh my God I had no idea; I heard they sometimes do this over in America. Does that mean because she signed that document that she has no legal right anymore to any of my father’s money?”

  “Exactly my dear , I don’t want to bog you down with every fastidious detail of that paper, however I can assure you that what your father left to you, Destiny, and Chase is yours and nobody has the right to take this away from you, even if Felicity was to take this to court, in which I very much doubt, the odds of her taking anymore of your fathers money from his property and businesses are very rare, in the event she was granted she would only get a further seven percent, none of this would be from your inhe
ritance.”

  “Thank you Mr Wallace that’s very reassuring. I think she’s received her fair share of my father’s wealth and to pursue it even further would be pointless, it’s just I don’t want her getting anything else other than what she’s entitled to!”

  “I understand Ella; this was one of your father’s biggest wishes and trust me there is so much in place legally to prevent her from doing so she´d never succeed. Rest assured Ella the inheritance is all yours, and I know it would have given your father a lot of satisfaction to see you enjoy it.”

  Ella felt overcome with grief, worn out with fatigue and was struggling to hold it all together. Not only had she just lost her father to a shocking illness she knew nothing about until several weeks ago and now this, the vast amount of money she had just inherited, the horrible scene with Felicity that had just taken place. All she longed for was the sanctuary of her own home with her children; all this was just too much to take in. Once again she heard herself repeating “Thank you Mr Wallace!”

  Turning towards the door she left still not knowing the contents of the brown envelopes but clutching onto them as though her dear life depended on them. Grabbing a taxi back to the house, she scrutinized the envelopes for some time until she realised on the back of each envelope was her father’s small hand writing, blinking back another onset of tears, remembering how her father had once taught her how to write. She tried focusing on the handwriting but it was hard as it was so small, thinking shed need a magnifying glass if she was ever going to be able to make out what it said. Was it some form of code? She couldn’t for the life of her figure it out, unaware that her life would change forever upon opening one of them.