The Legacy: Trouble Comes Disguised As Family (Unspoken Book 2) by T. Belshaw (the best books to read .txt) 📗

Bradley replied. ‘Now, down to business.’ He pressed a series of keys on his computer then leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands in front of his stomach. ‘Firstly, I’d like to congratulate you on having what was obviously such a delightful, loving, great grandmother. I can assure you she was full of glowing praise when we sat together to discuss her final requests.’

‘Delightful! Really? Most people found Nana brusque, to say the least.’

‘She was anything but. We got on like a house on fire. She said I reminded her of my great grandfather. They became good friends I believe.’

‘They did,’ replied Jessica. ‘Nana liked him a lot. He was as much a friend as an advisor.’

‘She gave us a lot of business over the years.’ Bradley pointed to a pile of green boxes in the corner of the room. ‘I went through it all when Mrs? Mollison set up the trust a few years ago.’

Jess leaned forward in her seat.

‘About this trust, I don’t really understand what it is, what it does, who runs it?’

‘I’ll explain all that in detail, Ms… erm, Jess. Firstly though, I’ll give you a brief breakdown of the will and I’ll leave the technicalities until later. I do have to go through the clauses in some detail but I’m not expecting you to understand all the legal terminology.’

Bradley opened a drawer and pulled out a thick green file. Noticing Jess’s look of horror, he gave a short laugh and patted it. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll give you the bare minimum, the condensed version.’

Jess blew out a sigh of relief.

‘Basically, Jess, your great grandmother left you everything… everything except a small insurance policy that is to be shared between your grandmother and your great aunt and a ten thousand pounds donation to a farm worker’s charity. All of the assets, including the farmhouse, five properties in London, her shares portfolio and the contents of her bank accounts have been placed into a Family Protection Trust. This is a legal device that protects the assets from being accessed by anyone not named in the trustee listing.’ Bradley looked down at his file. ‘I erm… believe she had concerns regarding your partner, Calvin?’

‘Concerns… that’s putting it mildly, Mr Wil… Bradley. She could see through most people and she certainly saw through Calvin.’ Jess pulled a face and looked down at her hands.

‘I see. Well, in that case I have to repeat that he will not be allowed to have any say in the running of the trust, nor the distribution of its assets.’

‘He won’t be around to do anything of the sort,’ replied Jess. ‘Calvin and I are no longer an item. We split up on the day that Nana died.’

‘Excellent,’ Bradley beamed. ‘I mean… I don’t mean excellent, that you… that you are no longer…’

He held up both hands palms facing out.

‘I know what you mean, I’m not offended,’ said Jess with a warm smile.

Bradley relaxed.

‘Unfortunately, the same goes for any partner you might live with. The three trustees are myself, Mr Beanney and you, Jess. Should you require anything financially from the trust we will have to have a meeting before the transaction will be allowed. Please don’t think we will be too restrictive. You are the main trustee and we will support any reasonable request.’ He smiled earnestly at her. ‘We are there to ensure that a third party doesn’t attempt to gain personally at your expense.’

Jess laughed. ‘Nana and I share a taste in men. She liked very few and trusted even fewer of them. She thought I might be taken advantage of. I disagree, but I’m not going to argue about it.’

‘Everything we have in here,’ Bradley patted the file, ‘is for your benefit and your welfare. The trust will run for a further one hundred and twenty-two years, but you will be allowed to renew or review the trust to include any children or add their assets to it should they wish to do so.’

Bradley paused. ‘It helps with death duties and taxes too.’

‘I hadn’t thought about any of that stuff,’ said Jess with a look of bewilderment.

‘As I said, I do have to give you a detailed statement but I’ll keep it as short as possible.’ Bradley smiled reassuringly.

‘Mrs Mollison requested that the trust pays you an annual allowance of some twenty-five thousand pounds. Now, although this is taxable… it is income after all… the sums are for your personal use and there are no restrictions on how you spend it. Council Tax, water charges etc are to be met by the trust but you will pay for your own utility bills. The farmhouse is valued at eight hundred thousand pounds and is yours to live in or rent out as you choose, the cost of any repairs or alterations will be met by the trust. The properties in London are either leased out or rented and bring in an annual income of some one hundred and fifty thousand pounds. Shares your grandmother purchased over the years bring in a similar amount.’

Jess put her hands to her forehead and tried to concentrate as Bradley continued the list of assets and liabilities but she soon got lost in the seemingly endless projections of future earnings, tax exemptions and annual property valuations. As Bradley read on, she found herself looking at the black and white photographs on the wall. One in particular caught her attention. A good-looking man, with a winning smile, wearing a gangster style hat tipped over one eye.

‘Godfrey,’ she whispered to herself. She smiled as she recalled Alice’s description of him. She looked around the room at the beautifully highly polished Edwardian furniture. She wondered if the layout had been the same when Alice sat in front of this very desk all those years ago. Then she remembered what Alice had written about that meeting, how she had seduced Godfrey to prove to herself that it was her, not him that held the power in the relationship. How