It took a second for the crowd to figure out where she was, but when they did, and she was at the center of the spotlight, she gave them her best pageant wave and smile.
I turned and handed the microphone over, not to the host but Yvonne. I could see the annoyance in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything as she took the microphone from me. I had words for her, but I held myself back. I had said what I wanted to say and tried to leave.
“Yes, it is always good to remember where we came from and how much we should give, which is why Augusta and I, in honor of Marvin and the children, began the donations with a check for five hundred thousand dollars,” Yvonne stated.
Everyone gasped and whispered among themselves before cheering at her big, fat heart.
I thought she’d be satisfied with stealing the attention back, but she apparently swore some blood oath to make my mom miserable. “Wilhelmina, I heard you also wished to donate?”
You evil old— I bit my tongue. We didn’t have the money to donate right now, and she knew that. However, no one else did, so they looked at my mother, who just stood there.
“Of course, she does,” I said quickly, speaking into the microphone. “We planned to match whatever you donated. We are so glad you are so generous.”
“Really? Then, in that case, we will donate one million.” She beamed at me, and my knees almost buckled.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have just started, and we are already at two million dollars. We here at Children’s Hospital of America thank you so much,” the host announced to everyone before I could slow everything down.
Everyone else began their donations, and I hurried away from the stage and Yvonne before I ended up giving away my whole inheritance. Oh, my God, what was I going to do? I didn’t have that much money yet! Arriving at my mom’s table, I downed the water in front of her and threw myself onto the seat beside her.
“You let her bait you,” my mother whispered beside me.
“I know!” I put my hands on my face. “But she was being—ugh. She was attacking you.”
She just snickered and waved it off. “She’s always doing that. I’ve gotten used to it.”
“Who are you? And where is my mother?” Because this couldn’t be her. My mother normally fought back. “Why did you let her stick you back here?”
“I needed to talk to Mr. Greensboro, so it was fine for now,” she whispered to me, and I finally looked over to the man who sat beside her.
“Please tell me you found a loophole,” I asked him.
He frowned, shaking his head. “Sadly, there isn’t one in this.”
I groaned, wanting to hide under the table. “How am I going to make this donation?”
“You should be asking how Augusta and her mother can.”
I paused and looked at her, but she just elegantly looked forward. “What does that mean?”
“Augusta should be in a worse financial state than you, shouldn’t she? Even if her mother works on the board, with how she burns through money and how she doesn’t have a career as you do with music, how can she give away a million dollars?” she asked me.
I just stared at her, not wanting to think. However, she forced me to as she passed me her phone. I looked at the document on her screen in shock.
“Augusta’s married?” This couldn’t be real.
“Going on three months now. She also received the first part of her inheritance this morning,” Mr. Greensboro whispered over to me. “After we confirmed the will, they requested the funds.”
I glanced back down at the screen. I didn’t know the name above the word spouse, but the date of it was clear as day, as was Augusta’s signature.
“We just spoke about this today... She didn’t say anything.” I shook my head. “Maybe she doesn’t know. What if it was her mother who—”
“Faked her signature?” my mother scoffed. “Odette, sweetheart, you need to stop being so naïve. In order to get married, both parties must be present. They got married in California so we wouldn’t notice it in the state records here. They also chose the son of a member of the board, which means between the three, they now have more shares in your father’s company than we do. I’m sure Augusta kept it a secret from you so she could convince you she was in this with you and wasn’t going to get married, either.”
I remembered the phone call I had this evening with Augusta coming to mind. Really? You aren’t going to, are you?
I thought the worry I heard in her voice was for me. Instead, it was for herself. “She called me to find out if I was going to get married.”
My mom scoffed, shaking her head. “Augusta has learned from her mother well.”
“I don’t want to believe she’d be manipulative.”
“What you want to believe is irrelevant,” she told me, glancing up at the banners above us. “Sooner or later, she and her mother are going to do to you what they are trying to do to me...and that is, erase you from the story. Yvonne has an image in her head. The perfect family and that is Augusta, Marvin, and her. We ruin that for her, so she does things like this. Look around at all the people falling over themselves to get beside her.”
I did as she told me to do and watched as Yvonne and Augusta shook hands with different guests, even stopping to take pictures.
“The moment your father divorced me, they all threw me to the side. They don’t care who started this. They care who has more power, fame, and money. Augusta is lucky in that her mother is smart.”
“You are smart, too,” I said quickly.
She gave me a look. “Not in the same way. Sadly, my skill sets are not in corporations and infighting. Yvonne is a major player in the company. I, on the other hand, can’t understand a word they’re saying in those meetings. So even though we also have money—well, in theory—she and Augusta have all three. You, unfortunately, took after me and have no care about the company, either.”
I frowned at that. “I understand some of it. But we don’t technically own all of it anymore, so I don’t need to know that much.”
“Until they kick you out completely.”
My eyes widened. “They wouldn’t. It’s my father—”
“They can kick out the actual creators. Why would they care about the daughters? Bad press only lasts for such a short time. Why do you think she is trying to get so many shareholders on her side?”
I rubbed the side of my head. “I hate all these political and corporate power games.” Each time I saw one coming, I felt a headache rising.
“And now you see why I chose a prince.” She snickered gently. “You and I don’t have the stomach for this fight. So, we need the best defense. If you have money already, how do you get enough power and fame that people always want to be associated with you?”
“Become royalty,” I answered. “And all the attention and respect is given to you. All of them would be falling over themselves to take pictures with you.”
“And I wouldn’t have to sit in the corner.” She frowned.
I shook my head. “You should have been a politician with how calculating you are sometimes.”
She shrugged and waved me off. “This is nothing. You should see what some women will do to win a swimsuit competition.”