But it wasn’t just pretty, it was incredibly practical.
I walked through the rooms, noticing the thick insulation, the doublepaned windows, and the digital control panel for a top tier solar power system mounted in the hallway.
Thomas had built a self-sustaining fortress of comfort.
I set my bags down in the master bedroom, which featured a huge window overlooking the forested valley below.
On the bedside table sat a thick leatherbound notebook with my name stamped on the cover.
I sat on the edge of the firm mattress, running my hand over the smooth leather.
It was Thomas Thomas’s handwriting on the first page.
He detailed exactly how the house ran.
The solar grid was fully paid off. The deep water well pump was brand new. The property taxes were minimal and prepaid for the next 5 years.
At the bottom of the page, he wrote, “Jared and Vanessa care about how things look. You care about how things last. Watch what happens next.”
I closed the book, a quiet sense of peace settling over my tired shoulders.
Then my cell phones buzzed violently on the nightstand.
Vanessa’s name flashed aggressively on the phone screen.
I let it ring until it went to voicemail, then walked into my beautiful new kitchen to make myself a cup of tea.
I needed to fully understand exactly what Thomas meant before I engaged with them.
I opened my laptop at the kitchen island and logged into my bank accounts.
Thomas and I had kept our finances simple, but I still had my name attached to a joint checking account with Jared, an account Thomas and I used to deposit emergency funds for him.
Currently, it held exactly $30,000.
I also looked at the documents Thomas left regarding the Miami penthouse.
He had transferred the deed, yes, but he had explicitly left the property exactly as it was.
That meant Jared and Vanessa were now solely responsible for the astronomical monthly HOA fees, the exorbitant property taxes, and the massive insurance premiums required for a beachfront property in a hurricane zone.
Thomas had always covered those steep costs from his business income, which naturally died with him.
Jared worked a mid-level management job, and Vanessa spent her days curating her social media presence and shopping.
They couldn’t afford to run that penthouse, not even for a single month.