Chapter 19

Helen cleared her throat when Claire stayed silent. "Seven tonight. If you don’t show, we’re sticking to the original ten million compensation." And with that, she hung up without waiting for a response. Claire slowly pulled the phone from her ear, staring at the screen, lost in thought. Olivia’s words echoed in her head—Seriously? Stirring up drama even with just two days left? She and Helen had never been close. From the start, Helen had looked down on her background, constantly trying to break them up when she and Lucas were dating. Even after they got married, Helen kept Claire out of the Bennett home for four whole years. Whenever she did show up for a holiday meal, Helen’s words were cold and laced with sarcasm. But beyond that, she never did much else. This meeting was probably just another intimidation move—try to throw her off before tossing over a compensation agreement. Claire wasn’t even sure if she wanted to go. But an hour later, Kenneth sent her a text: "Miss Richards, m