Ellie looked at me.
“Grandma, is it really mine?”
“Yes, sweetheart.”
Richard held out the pouch.
I gently intervened.
“I’ll keep it somewhere safe until she’s older.”
He nodded immediately.
“Of course.”
Then he reached toward an envelope on the bedside table.
“There’s something else.”
I stiffened.
Richard handed me the papers.
“I’ve arranged a trust for Ellie’s education,” he said. “It’s the portion of her grandmother’s money that should have passed through Claire.”
I stared at him.
The documents described an education fund established for my granddaughter.
For the first time in years, I could imagine Ellie going to college without carrying the same financial worries that had followed me most of my life.
But I wasn’t ready to thank Richard.
I folded the papers.
“I still don’t understand how you could treat your daughter that way.”
He lowered his eyes.
