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and a child whom she had never known about. It was a good reminder of who he had really been, and the sort of man he was. Selfish and narcissistic, he had done whatever he wanted, no matter who it hurt, or the damage it did later. And the only person he had really cared about during his entire life was himself.

Chapter 4
    V éronique took a cab downtown to Da Silvano, and arrived on time, at eight o’clock. Joy and Timmie arrived right before her, and Juliette shortly after. They took a table outside in the warm July night, and Timmie ordered wine as soon as they sat down. It had been a long, shocking, emotional day, and the discoveries of the morning had unnerved them all. Along with the thoughtfulness and insights of their father’s bequests to them, and the freedom it would give each of them to pursue their dreams, he had decked them with the revelation of his illegitimate child. Not to mention Bertie’s menacing outburst and accusation that his being left out of the will was somehow due to them and not to his own behavior for the past twenty years. They had lost a brother and gained a sister in a matter of minutes, and they were pleased at neither one, although the existence of Sophie Marnier upset them far more. They had all given up on Bertie years before.
    “Well, girls, so how’s everyone feeling about our new baby sister tonight?” Timmie said sarcastically after her first sip of wine. It had haunted her all day, and she was worried about their mother, who still looked deathly pale. The thought of it had tormented her since their meeting in Arnold’s office that morning.
    “I guess I’m not the baby anymore, and never was, or not for long,” Joy said, looking glum. She knew it was stupid, but it bothered her. Her father’s dishonesty about it had upset them all. “Her mother must be some kind of gold digger, and now they luck out and wind up with a quarter of the château. What if Sophie stops us from selling it?” Joy said, looking seriously worried.
    Véronique shook her head. “She can’t do that,” she said sensibly. “You girls outnumber her three to one. The majority will rule in any decision to sell. There was nothing in your father’s will about needing a unanimous vote to dispose of the château. Her ownership is technical and fiduciary. It just means she’ll get a quarter of whatever you sell it for, which probably won’t be much. I doubt that he’s maintained it properly for all these years, and it was never Versailles.” It had been a pretty country château, in good order when she owned it. It had been impeccably maintained until she turned it over to him, and neglected ever since. He hadn’t mentioned or thought of it in years, and had lost interest in it very quickly once it was his to maintain and run. Taking care of it properly would have required too much work, and money he didn’t have or didn’t wish to spend on a property in France he never used. It was typically Paul. Out of sight, out of mind. And out of pocket, even more so.
    “Well, I can tell you right now, I want to sell it,” Timmie said without hesitation after they ordered dinner. “The last thing I need is part ownership in a château in France, and all the headaches that go with it. It sounds like a money pit to me.”
    “It always was,” Véronique confirmed, and she knew it made no sense for her daughters to keep it. The only time they went to France now was for a week in the summer to visit her, and they weren’t even coming this year. Their days of vacationing together seemed to be over. Their lives were too separate now, with different schedules, obligations, and needs. And keeping a château, with all its upkeep, for a few days a year was absurd.
    “I don’t want a château in France either,” Joy said, with a look of panic. “I need to work in L.A. and go to auditions. I don’t even live on the East Coast, and it’s too hard to get to from L.A. Besides, I can’t afford it.” More important,