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Not for a moment had it occurred to her that the police might want to talk to her about Della. But then, why would they have?
Della had always been the perfect big sister. A bit bossy, but conscientious, kind, hard-working and always so very, very sensible. The sort of person who waited for the green man before crossing the road and even then would look both ways—twice.
It just hadn’t seemed possible that anything could happen to her.
But it had.
Impossibly, devastatingly, her wonderful, brave, stoic sister had been knocked off her bike on the way to work. She had been pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Dora felt tears jump into her eyes.
In the few seconds it had taken for the police officer to say those words everything had been sucked out of her. She had known she was still alive, but her life had changed for ever, broken into a million tiny, irretrievable pieces.
She felt her muscles tense as the memory of that morning crept back into her head.
Losing Della had been like losing a limb—a sharp, searing pain, followed by a dull ache that just wouldn’t fade. Dora hadn’t been able to see, much less speak to anyone, for fear of breaking down. Her heart had felt like a stone. All she’d wanted to do was crawl into bed and hide away from everyone—hide from a world where something so terrible and unfair could strike at random.
And if it had been just her, that was exactly what she would have done.
But she’d had to take care of Archie.
Her heart contracted. If the shock of losing her sister had been like hitting an iceberg head-on, then the realisation that she was in charge of bringing up her eleven-month-old nephew had been like trying to navigate an endless sea without a compass.
She loved him so much it hurt—but it terrified her too, being a grown-up. There was so much to sort out and learn—and not just day-to-day baby stuff.
Della had left no will.
Dora’s throat tightened sharply. That was only the second time in her life that her uber-organised, efficient sister had acted out of character.
The first time—more improbable by far—had been just under two years ago, when Della had fallen in love with the billionaire gambling tycoon Lao Dan.
Lao Dan had been more than twice her age.
He had also been her boss.
And Della hadn’t just fallen in love. She had got pregnant too. With Archie.
Letting out a breath, Dora dragged her thoughts back to the present.
Leaving no will—or dying intestate, as she now knew it to be called—didn’t just mean that her sister hadn’t left any instructions for how she wanted everything to work on her death. It also introduced a layer of complication and a mind-blowing amount of paperwork to an already fraught situation. Dora even had to apply to become Archie’s guardian.
Her stomach tensed and she stared down at her hands, guilt momentarily swamping her.
Would she have acted the same way if Della had actually appointed her in her will? Or was she just looking for an excuse?
‘Ms Thorn?’
Standing in front of her was a middle-aged man in a dark pinstriped suit, his silvery hair gleaming only slightly less than his teeth. Grateful to change the path of her thoughts, she stood up.
‘What a pleasure to meet you—and thank you so much for coming in today. I’m Peter Muir, one of the senior partners.’ He took Dora’s hand, and shook it briskly. ‘And on behalf of the firm I’d like to offer our sincere condolences for your loss. Such a terrible accident.’
She felt her smile freeze over as his hand squeezed hers sympathetically.
‘Thank you,’ she said quickly. She didn’t want or need comfort from a stranger, but in some ways it was a relief to know that her hunch had been right. Clearly her father was behind this. How else would this lawyer know the details of Della’s death?
Ignoring the curious glances of the receptionists, she let Peter Muir guide her towards a sweeping staircase at the end of the hallway.
‘I thought we’d use the partners’ lounge. It’s a little cosier than my office.’ His face creased apologetically. ‘I’m afraid Mr Law is running a little late, but he’s on his way and should be with us very soon.’
