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I took out my phone and showed him the pictures of the ceiling Vince had taken and sent to me. He got it right away. “This is bonkers.” He shook his head. “I knew Burney was whacko, but this takes it all. Well, it explains why he’d deed the factory to you.”
“But he left it to Lavender,” I said. “That’s how Cash got it.”
“Evidently not. If Cleve was your father, you were his eldest daughter.” Ken read the deed again. “I have to make some calls.”
He got out his cell, and I realized I was shaking. I hadn’t thought much about being Cleve’s daughter other than the shock of the realization, the knowledge that somebody else hadn’t wanted me. And then Vince had wanted me, and I’d forgotten about my horrible family.
“Imani,” Ken said into his phone after a minute. “Do you have a copy of Cleve Blue’s will? Great, what’s the date on it?” He waited and then said, “So right after Skye was born. Listen, Liz is here and we need you. Can you come down now? It’s big.”
He clicked off his phone and looked at me. “Once Cleve transferred the deed to you, no will could override it because he no longer owned it. This is dated fifteen years ago. Did something happen then?”
“I left town,” I said. “I just found out a couple of months ago that he paid most of the cost of my first Camry so I could get out.”
“And he signed the deed to the factory over to you.” Ken took a deep breath. “Well, first, congratulations. Did you have any idea?”
“No. Vince said I needed a DNA test after I found out Day was my dad, it should be here any day now, but . . . ”
Ken was frowning at the deed. “Is Vince available right now?”
“I don’t know. Why? This is my deal, not his, you don’t have to check with him—”
Ken was shaking his head, so I stopped.
“I have to tell Cash,” Ken said. “As soon as possible, before his people do any more work there. He’s been . . . not good lately, but he cheered up because he had a solid offer on the factory land.” He held up the deed. “With this, that deal is dead, so he’s going to be upset. I would feel better if Vince were here. Or we could call Mac or Will.”
“You think he’ll be violent?” I said, hoping he’d say something that would tell me I’d overreacted when I’d run from the factory minutes ago.
“I have no idea,” he said. “Call Vince, please.”
“I don’t . . . hell, Ken, I may not even own it. I never paid taxes on it. The city probably owns it by now.”
“There are no taxes,” Ken said. “Cleve made a deal with the town when he built Blue Park and donated it. In return, no taxes on the factory property. Shady, but legal. And totally out of proportion. But Cleve always played the angles. I can tell you Cash was very happy when he found that out and that it was grandfathered in for perpetuity as long as someone related to Cleve owned it.” He frowned. “Interesting wording that I didn’t think was odd at the time. But now, that’s great for you.” He looked back at the deed. “This is really going to cause an uproar.”
“What should I do?” I said, adding panic to the shock.
“You? Nothing. Whatever you want.” Ken shook his head. “You’re fine, just around half a million richer this morning.”
“Half a million dollars?”I said, rising from my seat.
Ken shrugged. “It’s a big building on the edge of a town where property values are rising. Huge amount of land. That’s probably what Cash was selling it to Costco for. You’re an heiress, Liz.”
I’d freaked out over buying a little cottage shack and now I owned a factory. Okay, it was burned out and empty. But with potential. Like my house. And me. My family’s factory. And I owned it.
Community center. A theater for Molly. Will’s car museum. Low-income housing for Over-the-Hill. I could do it all now, if I could figure out how to pay for it.
Guess Cleve had decided to take care of me after all.
But Cash . . .
I took out my phone and hit Favorites 1. When Vince answered, I said, “Help.”
“In danger?”
“Not yet but maybe. I need you here.”
“Where?”
“Ken’s office.”
