Breaking Kate: The Acceptance Series (2 page)

My Darling Katie Grace,

My poor little girl, if you are reading this letter then it means I am gone. Katie, darling, please know that I love you with all of my heart and soul. I know by now you have grown into a loving, beautiful, remarkable young woman. I specified this letter not be given to you until your 18
th
birthday so that I would be sure you are capable of understanding my words. It is my greatest wish that your father becomes a loving, doting man who is there for you and all of your needs. I know deep down inside he has that in him because that is the man I married and fell in love with.

Unfortunately, time, business, and the greed of the almighty dollar
has changed that man I once loved with all of my heart. I know deep down inside, had I lived longer, I would have left him and taken you without looking back. I never meant for you to be raised in a world full of superficial people and greed. As you know, Maryanne and I became great friends, and she agreed should something happen to me that she would make sure that you turned out a well-rounded girl and I agreed the same in regards to Jessica should the unfortunate have happened to her. I know Maryanne will stay true to her word which is why I am confiding in you with this letter.

Happy Birthday, my darling girl.
I wish I was there to celebrate this important day with you. As I am not, please read my words and heed my advice. Find love and hold on to it; don’t settle for anything less than you deserve. When you find your soul mate who loves, treasures, and respects you and puts you and your needs, wants, and desires above all else, grab him and never let him go. My dear Katie Grace, don’t settle for less, not ever. If there is the slightest nagging in the back of your head questioning if you picked the right man, take pause and listen to that voice. I truly wish I would have done the same.

If your relationship with your father has turned out like my relationship with your father did then I know you must have issues with love and trust. Build past those issues, move past those doubts, and love yourself and those around you with the shining grace you have inside of you. I do hope that my birthday gift to you will help enable you to discover yourself and all that you have inside of you. I want you to do
good in the world and make a difference. Please don’t tie yourself down to a desk in your father’s company. I know that is probably his intention for you, and I am sure he is putting stipulations on your education and life based on his desires for you. My gift to you is freedom from all of that, and I have much peace in my heart knowing that in death I can help you become all that you were meant to be.

Your father started his company with my money. I am not sure if you know or remember, but your grandparents were quite well off. When they passed on, they left all of their fortune to me as I was their only child. I still feel their loss every single day and understand all too well how my untimely passing must have affected you. In my will I am leaving your father a portion of my money. Even as in love with him as I was, I never told him how much money I truly had. A woman must have security for
herself just in case; that is what my mother always told me and what I am telling you now.

I know your father will take care of you, and even though there will be strings attached, I want you to let him until you graduate from school. I want you to take your college years and figure out what you truly want out of life and how you would spend it if money were never a problem for you. I urge you to keep this letter to yourself which is why I specifically hired this firm to take care of everything for you.

In a trust account that you will have access to when you turn 25 years old is 25 million dollars. By the time you turn 25, the balance should be much larger the way the trust is set up with interest. My assumption is that you will have nearly 50 million dollars available to you on your 25
th
birthday, my love. Do good with it, save the world, save yourself, find your passion and happiness, and be amazing. Do with the money whatever makes you happy, but be smart and save for a rainy day, so that one day your children can receive an amazing gift from you as well—a secured financial future.

My darling, I love you more than you will ever know. When you have a child of your own, you will understand the depths of my love. Happy Birthday, my beautiful Katie Grace. I will leave you now with one of my favorite quotes in hope that you take away from it what I did and don’t ever waste a precious moment. I don’t think there are truer words that have ever been spoken.

“There are five things in life you can never get back. The stone after it is thrown, the word after it is said, the occasion after it is missed, time after it is gone, and a person after they die.”

All of my love until one day we meet again,

Mom

I never told anyone other than Jess about the letter. It was personal and private and it gave me so much happiness and sadness at the same time. It was like I finally got to say goodbye to my mom. She was able to impart some wisdom on me and I don’t take any of it for granted. It did make me somewhat sad because it was a final goodbye, but her words are forever etched into my soul. I know with the money I can be a child psychologist and not worry about my dad and his wishes. I’ll be able to help as many kids as I want because I can practice for free. I plan on opening my own little non-profit organization and calling it Lila’s Place after my mom.

Lila Kelly Moore, the most amazing woman I never got to fully know. When reading her letter, I knew without hesitation the love she spoke of is Michael. One day I will marry him; I know it to the depths of my soul. Right now, though, thinking about him while carrying everything into the house and putting it away is tying me up in knots. It’s only been about forty-five minutes since I left the hospital but I was hoping I would have heard some news by now.

I pour myself a glass of water and sit on the couch. It still smells like paint in the condo, and everything in here is brand new. I really love this condo. It has two master bedrooms—one for myself and one for Jess. Both bedrooms have full bathrooms with big spa tubs and walk-in closets. Downstairs there is a living room, a dining area, kitchen, and another full bathroom. We picked out a big L-shaped couch in brown microfiber with reclining ends and a pull-out center—that way there are plenty of places for people to sleep if they come to visit.

It’s late almost two a.m., and I’m anxious and tired. I was up at five this morning so I could be to work by seven. I went in early since it was my last day and only worked until noon so that Michael and I could enjoy one last day at the beach before school starts. Today was the only way we could make it work with all the moving and packing we have coming up in the next couple of weeks. I packed up my things at the office and had lunch with Grant after work. Thinking back on our conversation, nothing seemed out of place—we caught up on the usual stuff. He asked me if his son was going to make an honest woman out of me anytime soon. Laughing, I told him he would know better than I did, but I wasn’t worried because we have our whole lives ahead of us. Sitting here now, that time frame does not seem very long, especially after remembering my mom and seeing how Grant is so ill. I wish there was something I could be doing right now so I text Michael.

Me: Any news yet? I love you and I’m here for you.

No response. I didn’t think there would be. I start dozing off, curled up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. I get up and put the key under the mat on the porch and text him again. It’s almost four a.m.

Me: I love you. I hope you’re okay. I left the key under the mat in case I fall asleep.

I turn on the TV to some random infomercial and fall asleep. Hearing a noise, I jump up. I look at my phone and see that it’s 4:45 in the morning when the knob on the door turns.
Finally!
I get up and run to the door as Michael walks through. He looks awful—his piercing blue eyes look dull, his blonde hair is all messed up from running his hands through it all night, his cheeks are puffy and stained with tears, and his clothes are wrinkled from sitting in a chair all night. Oh god, my heart aches for him so much. My beautiful, loving boyfriend looks like a hollow, empty shell. I need him. I need to touch him, to hug him. He won’t even look at me; he just continues to stare down at the floor.

“Michael, please say something. You’re scaring me, babe. How is your dad?”

He reaches for me and hugs me tight, tighter than ever before. He’s sobbing, and I can feel his body shaking uncontrollably, completely racked with grief.

“He’s gone, Katherine, he died an hour ago. He was driving drunk and hit the center divider going eighty miles per hour. The cop said he was surprised he wasn’t dead on the scene. The car was torn in half. Oh god, Katherine, how can he be gone?”

Stunned, shocked, and devastated—all of these emotions are running through me as I watch the boy I love with all of my heart and soul cry like there’s no tomorrow. I grab his hand, lead him into the bedroom, take off his shoes, and have him lie down. I go into the kitchen to get him some water and try to calm myself a little bit. My sobs are almost worse than his, but I need to be here for him right now. Looking at him lying on the bed, he looks so small, so desolate. I get him to take a drink of water and lie down facing him. I just hold him and let him cry. There are no words, just utter sadness. As he eventually cries himself to sleep with me wrapped in his arms, I fall into a restless sleep.

I wake up to the sun shining through the windows. Michael is perched on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. I stretch and sit next to him, reaching out to hold his hand, but he pulls away from me.

“Katherine, I couldn’t talk last night. I needed you—at least the girl I
thought
you were—the girl my parents loved as their own. Right now I am
so angry
at you, at
my
dad, at
your
dad, at the whole fucking universe! I can’t believe he drove drunk! All those lectures through high school about drinking and driving and that’s how he dies! My mom’s convinced it’s your fault, your dad’s fault, and I’m trying so hard to not believe that, but I have to hear it from you. Yesterday, at lunch, did you talk to my dad about the Thompson takeover being completed?”

My head is spinning.
Why is he blaming me?
He’s talking like I don’t love him or his family.
What’s going on?
I can hear the heartbreak in his voice, see it on his face. His anger is fueled by his broken heart. I have no clue what I can do to make this better for him.

“Michael, I don’t understand. Why are you talking like this? Like
I
did something? I loved your dad. I love
you
, I love your mom; you’re
my
family. What is going on?”

Through gritted teeth and tears he asks me again, “Did you talk to my dad about the Thompson takeover being complete?”

“Your dad asked me what I had been up to besides not getting you to make an honest woman out of me yet. I told him how happy I was that summer was over, that I was tired of pushing papers, and how I was grateful to have the nightmare paperwork of the Thompson takeover completed. He asked me what I meant about the takeover being completed, and I told him that the paperwork had been finalized and I was finally able to clear the files off my desk. That’s nothing out of the ordinary for the office, Michael. I deal with files all day long, making sure all the appropriate documents are there and that all the signature spaces are signed. When they’re all complete, I file them away.”

“Is there any particular reason you mentioned that file to him specifically?”

I really don’t understand why he’s asking these questions.

“No, other than it was an ongoing project from the beginning of summer until now. It was nice to feel like I got the biggest project filed away before leaving since yesterday was my last day. After my lunch with Grant, I went straight to you. I never went back to the office because I had packed up my desk before going to lunch with your dad. Please, Michael, tell me what this is all about.”

He takes a deep breath as he continues to wring his hands through his hair. “My mom thinks you knew and didn’t say anything until it was over on purpose. She said your dad had a lot to gain from the Thompson takeover and that he must have filled you in on what a delicate situation it was. God, Katherine, I don’t know what to think, but if you didn’t know, your dad still did, which means
your
family did this to us.”

“I don’t know all the details but what I do know is my dad was a silent partner in Thompson Industries. He helped fund them when they were a small startup firm; this was before he was even a partner with your dad. It’s no secret that your dad holds forty percent of the shares and my dad owns forty percent, and for either of them to be fired, the board of directors has to agree. My dad never knew about the Thompson Industries takeover. Your dad went to the board and said that my dad being a silent partner in Thompson was in violation of his non-compete clause in his contract. He convinced them that they had no other choice but to let him go since they were dissolving Thompson Industries after taking it over. They had the board meeting yesterday during your lunch. When my dad got back to work, his office was packed up and a check paying him out the diluted portion of all that was left of his shares in Thompson was given to him. Five hundred thousand dollars, that’s it. Since the board agreed to fire him for breach of contract he did not even get a severance package from his
own damn company
. To keep them both honest, it was in their original agreement that if either of them were ever fired for a moral or ethical breach that they agreed to sell their stock in the company back at the price they paid for it when they started the company. My dad received another check for two million dollars. A man who started the day being owner of two multi-million dollar corporations is now reduced to two and a half million dollars.