At his words, my breath hitches, and I feel Loki’s hand come down onto my shoulder, squeezing gently and lending me strength. My hand comes up to grasp his, our fingers intertwining.
“Yes,” I manage, my voice a little raspy. He nods, then looks down at a sheaf of papers.
“I shall read it now for you.
“Last Will and Testament of Laura Darling
I, Laura Darling, presently of Newland House, England, hereby revoke all former testamentary dispositions made by me, and declare this to be my last will.”
I can’t help the way my body tremors at hearing those words, knowing that my mother most likely sat in this chair and filled this out.
He continues reading some legal shit that I don’t understand at all. He then goes on to list my mother’s estate, and a lump fills my throat at the mention of a small sum of money, and our flat, which I’m pretty sure I am going to sell because I can’t bear the idea of living there or even going back there.
“I also bequeath Lilly Darling the bonds and shares that I own pertaining to Black Knight Corporation in their entirety.”
The entire world stops spinning, the universe holding its breath as those words sink in.
“I’m sorry, what?” I squeak. Richard looks up from the document at my interruption.
“I beg your pardon?” he asks, an open, if slightly confused look on his face.
“You said bonds and shares in Black Knight Corporation?” I reply, feeling Loki’s hand gripping my shoulder tightly, his body stock-still.
“Yes, that’s right,” he says, shuffling the papers on the desk and bringing out one to read. “The bonds each give you an annual yield of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, currently just over one hundred and twelve thousand pounds, plus an additional one hundred and fifty thousand upon their maturity, in eighteen months time. The shares make you the majority stakeholder, or shareholder, in the company.”
My eyes widen at this causal impartation of information, my chest tingling and a sense of lightheadedness coming over me as I take in what he has just said.
What the ever-loving fuck is going on?
“I guess this helps to explain the photo,” Loki says with a rueful chuckle, and my head whips up to look at him.
“What do you mean?” I ask, brows furrowed.
“Well, your mom was obviously a shareholder from the start, so it makes sense that she was at the gala,” he reasons, and I just shake my head at how crazy this all is.
I turn to look at Ash, who has deep frown lines marring his brow as he looks at the papers on Richard’s desk.
“Did you know?” I ask him, a flash of unease spiking through me. “Is this why your dad is so interested in me?”
His own head turns to look at me, his eyes hard.
“No, I didn’t fucking know, Princess,” he replies, his tone scathing and cutting like the steel of his eyes. I take a sharp breath in at his words. “And I have no fucking idea why my dad is interested in you. Although, this would help to explain it.” He says the last part almost to himself as he looks at Loki standing next to me, then the others behind me.
“Ahem,” I hear Richard clear his throat in front of me, so I turn in my seat to face him once more. “Your mother had the forethought to register everything in your name, so there’s no sticking point there,” he tells me reassuringly.
“Oh, okay,” I mumble back, my head spinning still from the majority shareholder bomb.
I own a fucking company! And not just any company, either. The guys’ company.
“Now, that concludes the reading of your mother’s Will. Here are the documents that outline everything that we’ve discussed, including bank account details, how many bonds you have, etcetera,” he says, handing me a manilla folder, which I take, my movements on autopilot. “I can see that you’re a little surprised by what you’ve heard today, so can I suggest you take a few days to let it all sink in, and then if you have any questions or need of my services, just make an appointment with Sammi downstairs?”
“Y–yes, that sounds good,” I stammer out, getting up and clutching the folder to my chest with slightly trembling hands. “T–thank you, Mr Payne, uh, Richard.”
“You are most welcome, Miss Darling,” he smiles kindly at me, getting up and coming round to open the door for us. The guys each shake his hand as we leave, but I can’t seem to make my hands let go of the folder to do the same, so I just smile and leave the room.
We walk down the stairs silently, Loki holding my elbow, providing a steadying grip as we descend. Reaching the bottom, we make our way across the foyer, leaving the building. I take a huge lungful of the damp London air once we’re outside, feeling like it’s the first time I’ve taken a proper breath in hours.
“You realise what this means, right?” Loki says as we wait for the car, and I look up at him to see an achingly familiar gleam in his eye.