The room seemed to spin as I processed what she was saying. My father had trusted me? Trusted me to handle what, exactly? I had no training for something like this. I had no experience in whatever world my father had been a part of. All I had was a card and a bank manager telling me I was now in the middle of something bigger than I could possibly understand.
“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted, my voice a shaky whisper. “I don’t even know where to start.”
The teller gave me a look of understanding, her eyes softening. “That’s the hardest part. But you have to start by understanding one thing: You’re no longer just Emily Carter, the woman who was left by her husband. You’re someone else now. Someone with power. But power doesn’t come free. It comes with risks, with enemies. People will try to use you, manipulate you. You have to be careful, or you’ll lose everything—just like your father almost did.”