When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 5

After she finished her call with the lawyer, Nelly opened a drawer and took out a business card.

The name on it was unfamiliar. Jonah Watson.

A week ago, Westhaven’s most famous foundation had reached out to her. They’d set up a meeting with a young man, someone she’d never seen before.

He’d shown her a paternity test and proof of an inheritance worth billions.

For as long as she could remember, Nelly only knew her father as a wealthy businessman. She was his secret daughter. She and her mother had been left behind.

She never imagined that the man who abandoned them turned out to be Christopher Watson, the most powerful tycoon in Westhaven.

News of Christopher’s death had just shaken the business world. Every tabloid was obsessed with the same question: what would happen to Christopher's fortune now that he was gone, leaving behind no children—at least, none that anyone knew about?

Nelly thought maybe Christopher had changed his mind and decided to leave something for her. But all she got was a letter.

In it, Christopher wrote that her mother had only wanted to marry a rich man, so he had no intention of ever recognizing Nelly. Still, since she was his only blood relative, he would give her the chance to inherit his fortune.

Reading that, Nelly was furious. She’d stormed off before the man could finish talking.

But the foundation kept contacting her, and eventually they passed along that man’s business card. She could reach out to him anytime.

Jonah Watson. Was he somehow related to her father too?

Nelly wanted to call him, but she knew she wasn’t in the right headspace. Instead, she sent a text, asking if he could meet tomorrow.

*

It was a workday.

Normally, Nelly would be up early, making sure Carrie was washed, dressed, and fed. After seeing Carrie off in Brody’s assistant Alan’s car, she’d rush to Garland Inc. and work herself to exhaustion, staying late every night.

Even so, Carrie never let any of this show. She was a Garland after all. She had to be a good girl, no matter what.

“Oh, Mrs. Garland has already eaten and gone back to rest. Carrie, you should eat up—Alan will be here soon,” Marian said.

“Resting? At this time? Isn’t she going to work?” Carrie was irritated by how strange her mom was acting.

She hurried straight to Nelly’s room.

But the door was locked.

She banged on it, hard, more than once. Eventually, Nelly opened the door.

Nelly’s face was covered with a sheer, dewy mask. She wore brand new, ice-blue pajamas that made her skin look even softer. Her hair, usually twisted up in a messy bun, hung softly over her shoulders.