“No one asked you,” Bridget snapped.

“He’s right,” Margaret interjected, grateful Luke said exactly what she wanted to say. “I’ll help, but I won’t enable you to stop taking care of yourself and your responsibilities.”

Bridget silently fumed.

Luke changed the subject. “Do you mind if I look at some of this?”

“Go ahead.” She pushed the documents toward him. “Maybe you can tell me what these statements mean.”

Margaret opened some of the other envelopes and sorted through their contents. Each one contained essentially the same items: the financial statements for both the company and her personal account that Sarah had set up, pictures of the boys and their artwork, and a letter from Sarah.

Tears gathered in her eyes and regret and self-loathing filled her gut as she read the lovely accounts of the boys’ lives. “She talks about the boys’ first day of school, fun things they like to do, and their accomplishments.” She held the letters up. “It’s like watching the boys grow up through Sarah’s eyes and words.” Margaret felt terrible for ignoring all of this. Especially when Sarah had signed every letter the same, “Best wishes, Sarah.” She didn’t hold a grudge. She’d tried to build a bridge and Margaret had dynamited every attempt by ignoring Sarah and piling on the scorn.

None of the letters contained any hostility or said anything about what Sarah had gone through to get the company back on solid ground, or how hard she’d worked to make it a success.

Shame washed over Margaret.

Sarah had done everything to make sure Margaret knew about the boys and their lives. Margaret had been too stubborn to even open the envelopes.

She’d missed out on so much.

And it was all her fault.

Luke gave a half smile and held up the papers. “She’s done an amazing job with this company. These statements show that when Sean died the company was out of money and headed toward crippling debt. After just six months, the company made a small profit. Quite an accomplishment based on what Sarah had to overcome. After the first year, she made a generous profit. She even gave out bonuses to the employees. Though she could have, and deserved it, she didn’t take one. The second year she more than doubled the profits and the projections for this year are four, almost five times as much. She’s projected to make almost two hundred and thirty-five million. That’s the profit, Margaret. All of that is after she pays her staff and overhead.”

Margaret couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

Luke leaned in. “Did you know she does the major projects that have catapulted the company to success? She puts in a sixteen-to-twenty-hour day. While she has Camille to help with the house, cooking, and the kids, she takes the boys to school and picks them up herself. She goes back and forth between work and home with the boys at least four times a day and works well into the night and early morning. I listened in on a call between Sarah, her assistant Abby, and her team. They all adore her. And I’ve learned a lot more about Sarah these past weeks.”