“I told you the letter would work.” Luke stood in the kitchen, wearing a tailored suit, tie loose. Luke was a defense attorney. When she asked Luke for help with her Sarah problem, he’d convinced her to start with a letter requesting to see the boys.

She was surprised it worked.

And she had Luke to thank for it.

He and Sean had been close as brothers growing up, though they’d gone their separate ways after high school. Still, she thought of Luke as a second son.

But she’d kept the bad blood between her and Sarah private until now.

“Two years is a long time to let this go on.” Luke didn’t understand.

Depression had stripped her of any sense of time. One day dragged into the next. “At first, my grief was too great to see anyone. A mother shouldn’t outlive her child. When Sarah took over Sean’s company, I got angry. After the funeral, she didn’t grieve him, she just took everything and shut us out.”

Sarah got everything Sean worked so hard to build and erased him from the boys’ lives.

They probably didn’t even remember him. Their own father. It made her sick.

So she put her foot down and insisted on this visit. She deserved to see her grandsons.

The company envelopes Sarah sent monthly sat piling up on the credenza behind her desk in the library. They reminded her of all Sarah had taken and Sean had lost.

She refused to open them and allow Sarah to rub it in her face.

“I bet you miss the boys. Take this time to try to mend the relationship with Sarah so it’s easier for you to visit the kids.” Luke’s sympathetic tone didn’t lessen the turmoil roiling inside her.

“She wants nothing to do with me or Bridget.” Her daughter, like her, hadn’t liked what Sean told them about Sarah either.

“No one really wins in court. Everyone pays a price. Remember, Sean loved her.”

Margaret waved that away. “And look where that got him. Dead. She and Sean came from different worlds. It was obvious she only wanted to use Sean to elevate herself from a poor foster girl. She had no family and little education before she ended up at MIT.”

“Really?” Interest lit Luke’s eyes.

Margaret had a brilliant idea. “You should look into her teenage years. She got into trouble. Sean didn’t know all the details. Find out what really happened. If she’s got a criminal past, that will help my case.”

Luke’s eyes turned thoughtful. “I’ll look into it, but juvenile records are sealed. And you should really try to come to an agreement you can both live with.”

“I want to be prepared. Just in case.”

Luke pressed his lips tight. “All right. If that’s what you want, I’ll see if I can find out anything.”

“I want her to pay for what she’s done. Short of that, I want to see my grandsons whenever I want.”

Luke sighed. “Do you know anything else about her life before she met Sean?”