But sadly, he bears an uncanny resemblance to the foster father that treated me with excessive cruelty and killed my best friend. Much as I love the Thornes, I couldn’t get past the trauma of letting Michael touch me.

So my current plan is to tell Jessie immediately, and if she no longer wants to be with me, I’ll contest David’s will and force the family to pay me my rightful share of the inheritance.

And I’ll take my chances that number will be north of five million.

Hold up: Alison just agreed to pay the full five million!

In return, I’ll have to move away, stop seeing Jessie, and never contact the family again.

Obviously, the payment to me is contingent on her getting the full accidental death benefit. This, because they’ll need a ton of money to pay inheritance taxes and attorney’s fees.

So I’ll stay cool till I get the money. I’ll tell Jess we have to stay apart for a couple months, she’ll ask why, and I’ll tell her the whole story. Except for the part about how I seduced her dad. If she ever found out about that, I’d lose her in a heartbeat. Lucky for me I was extremely careful throughout the affair. The only one on earth who has any evidence linking me to David sexually is me.

Will Jessie wait for me? I sure hope so. She isn’t family, but she’s the closest thing I’ve got.

2.

Three Weeks Later

MY PHONE RINGS.

“Nicki? It’s Alison. We’ve hit a wall.”

“What do you mean?”

“According to Mr. Blass, the insurance company’s going to deny the accidental death benefit. If they do, he thinks David’s other policies will follow suit. Accordingly, I can’t pay you the full amount.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Our agreement.”

“Which agreement is that?”

She pauses. “I offered you five million dollars to walk away, and you agreed.”

“Actually, I agreed to accept your offer of five million dollars in lieu of contesting the will.”

“Well, however you want to phrase it, if the insurance won’t pay, I can only give you half.”

“That seems a bit light.”

“Two-point-five’s a lot of money. And you already received one-point-two from David.”

“Why won’t they pay the accidental death benefit?”

“I don’t know. It’s a lot of gibberish, far as I’m concerned. But Mr. Blass is here. If you want, I’ll put him on speaker.”

“Thanks. I would like to talk to him.”

“Nicki? Hi. Arthur Blass. I’ve been working the insurance claim for Mrs. Thorne.”

“I know,” I say, thinking that’s not the only thing he’s been working.

“The insurance company’s taking the position that Mr. Thorne’s death wasn’t an accident because a reasonable person would understand that putting a noose around his neck for the purposes of sexual gratification could result in his death.”

“It wasn’t a noose. It was a slip knot. And a reasonable person would also understand that crossing a city street could result in his death.”

“Yes, but the company feels a reasonable person would understand the risk difference between hanging himself and crossing a city street.”

“Is the company claiming this was a suicide? Because that would go against the coroner’s report, from what I’ve heard. Not to mention the police report.”

“No. They’re saying it doesn’t qualify as a payable claim based on the policy provisions.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot!”

“If I tried to run across a busy highway to save my dog and got hit by a car and killed, would the company pay the accidental death rider?”

“Yes.”

“And I assume that’s because I didn’t intend to get struck by a car?”

“That’s correct.”

“So is the company’s saying David intended to strangle himself?”

“Yes. Not to death, but partially, enough to cut off his air. That’s the whole point of autoerotic asphyxiation.”

“Did you hear yourself just now? You said it was David’s intention to partially cut off his air.