Next morning

She regains consciousness at the ring of the phone.

"Hello?" she answers groggily.

"Mrs. Stone?" A male voice asks.

She opens her eyes, surprised to see the bright lights of morning. She has been sleeping for hours.

"Yes?"

"I'm afraid I have bad news, Mrs. Stone." He appears to be choosing his words. "Mr. Robert Bolt passed away last night after a car accident."

Alexandra sits upright, stunned by the news. "How did it happen?"

He hesitates. "It happened on the highway, he got hit by another car, the driver fled the scene immediately afterward, and we don't know who he was or where he went."

"Oh, my God! He was my mother's ex-husband, they divorced ten years ago, but he was almost like a father to me."

"I'm sorry to hear about your loss, Mrs. Stone."

"Thank you, but why do you call me so soon?" She questions.

"Mr. Bolt's testament states that your mother is his sole beneficiary."

"Oh!" Alexandra sits down on the edge of the chair.

Her mother passed away four years ago, which makes Alexandra his beneficiary.

"Yes, Mrs. Stone, we need to discuss the inheritance, please come to the office as soon as possible."

She seems to have forgotten what she did last night, maybe because of shocking news or the little hope that followed. Alexandra leaves the office, and calls her driver.

***

Alexandra arrives at the lawyer's office, thinking of her past, her childhood, and her mother. Her father abandoned her when she was three years old, and she never knew him. Robert Bolt raised her with her mother, guiding her to the business world, and helping to build her company into an enterprise.

After talking with her lawyer, she realizes the most conflicting feelings inside her, the grieving for the loss of her stepfather and the happiness for solving her problems. Robert left Alexandra twice her original patrimony before her husband lost all their money. Now she would be able to pay off all her debt to her creditors and save her family.