The Moreau Witches Trilogy
Part One
The Legacy
by Julien Gregg
Copyright © 2025 by Julien Gregg
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permission requests, contact the author by email. The link is below.
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
One
Quinn Moreau was walking across campus to get back to his dorm when he was suddenly attacked from behind by three men in skull masks. He was knocked down and the wind was knocked out of him. It took several minutes for him to get his barrings all the while one of the men was rifling through his pocket, trying to find his wallet. He’d heard about these three men before. They usually struck at night, but this was broad daylight.
Quinn gathered the power inside of him and struck at the man rifling through his pocket. The effect was instantaneous. He grabbed his head and fell off of Quinn. Now for the other two. Quinn had never used the power on three at once. He didn’t even know if he could. But he reached out to both of them and they fell. One clutching his stomach and the other clutching his chest.
It utterly amazed Quinn every time he used this power. There had been the bully on the playground when Quinn was eight. He’d caused the boy to die from a heart attack that officials had never seen the like of. Then there had been the couple in the van. They’d tried to lure him into the van with candy. He’s used the power on both of them one at a time but the result was still the same. Two dead bodies in the van.
The last time it had been his adopted mother. She had chased him through the house with a kitchen knife. She’d screamed that he was evil and had to be killed. She’d ultimately caught up with him and stabbed him in the chest. She’d managed to miss the heart but that wasn’t what he remembered most. It was the look in her eyes as he struck with all of his might. Her pupils had blown and then she was just lifeless lying on top of him. His father had found them on the landing of the staircase that day and called 911.
That was what he thought of as he held the three men on the ground in front of him. He’d gotten to his feet, checked that his wallet was still safely in his back pocket, and rubbed the knot on his head while staring at them one at a time.
“Next time I’ll kill you,” he said and then walked away.
He was disgusted with himself. Why was he like this? Why couldn’t he be normal? He’d wished to be normal on every birthday cake in his life. It was no use. He was who he was and there was no changing it. He walked on to the dorm. There was no use wishing for things that could never happen.
He got to his dorm and up the stairs to his room without further incidents. He let himself in and began to strip off his scuffed, grass-stained clothes. He berated himself for nearly killing the three would-be assailants. They’d only been after his wallet after all. There wasn’t much money in it. He didn’t carry much money. But still he was Quinn Moreau and there was a medical center named after the family not far from campus. Everyone knew that his family owned the medical center. They naturally assumed that Quinn was wealthy. He was but that didn’t mean that he carried money around with him all of he time.
He changed into another pair of pants and a t-shirt and sat at his desk. His room mate wasn’t in the room at that time so there were no questions for him to answer about his changing clothes in the middle of the day. He just got out his physics assignment and started to work on it as he tried not to think about what had happened in the quad.
Charlie came in a few minutes later. He slung his bag on his bed, sat down, and sighed. Quinn looked at him. He liked to look at Charlie a lot. Charlie Banks was six feet tall with mousy brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, and really cute dimples when he smiled. He was physically fit from his time on the track team. He had a cute butt and filled out a pair of jeans rather nicely. Quinn had noticed all of this about his room mate countless times but he’d never said a word. For all he knew, Charlie might be homophobic. He didn’t want to find that out about his friend and crush.
“You done with classes today?” Charlie asked him suddenly.
“Yeah,” he said. “I had Econ and Physics and then I was done. I’m working on the physics assignment now.”
“I can’t believe you’re taking that class,” Charlie said with smile.
“I need it for my degree,” Quinn said in return.
“We don’t declare majors until next year,” Charlie said.
“I declared mine early,” Quinn replied as his phone rang.
He picked it up and looked at the caller ID. It was the Medical Center in Rochester. He answered it quickly wondering who was calling from that branch of Moreau Medical. The voice on the phone was that of Doctor Carlson. He was calling about Quinn’s father. Bart Moreau had suffered a massive stroke and wasn’t expected to live. Could Quinn come quickly? He answered that he could and hung up the phone.
“You’re going home?” Charlie asked, looking worried.
“My father had a stroke and they don’t expect him to live much longer,” Quinn replied. “If I leave now and drive like a maniac I can get there in an hour or so.”
“Gosh, Quinn I’m so sorry to hear about your dad,” Charlie said.
“Thanks,” he replied as he started to stuff clothes into his suitcase. “Can you call David for me and let him know what happened?”
“Sure thing,” Charlie replied.
“Thanks,” Quinn said as he closed the suitcase.
He grabbed the suitcase, his keys, and his wallet, and headed out the door. Quinn’s car was a modest Nissan Altima with tinted windows, heated seats, and roadside assistance. He put the suitcase in the trunk and got behind the wheel. He didn’t drive like a maniac but he did drive in excess of the speed limit. It took about an hour and twenty minutes to get from Syracuse to Rochester and he needed to get there quickly.
He thought again about when he’d killed his adopted mother. His father had found him lying there underneath the dead body of the woman he’d called mother for sixteen years. He’d been rushed to Moreau Medical to undergo surgery to repair the damage done by the knife. His father had sat by his bedside the whole time Quinn was in the hospital. Friends had stopped by and left flowers and stuffed animals. Quinn had said not a word since waking up in the room. How could he talk to his father about murdering his wife?
Of course the medical world said that she’d had an aneurysm. Quinn was sure that his father knew the truth somehow. He’d just stayed quiet and said very little. His father told him that he was glad that he had survived the attack. He talked about how his wife had been acting odd and the aneurysm had not shocked him. He kept apologizing about leaving him at home alone with her.
Quinn knew that she wasn’t his mother. She was Bart’s wife and had adopted him but she wasn’t his birth mother. Bart had told him that his mother was someone that he had loved but it was not to be with her. He said that she had told him to take him and go. He’d never told him who his mother was and Quinn hadn’t asked. Now he wondered who she was. Could he go to her and get answers about why she’d let him go?
He pulled into the parking lot of Moreau Medical at three o’clock. He parked in the lot and headed into the building. Moreau Medical in Rochester, New York was a four story red brick building with an addition that was all limestone that was the Emergency Center. He went in the main door and went to the floor that he knew his father was on. He found his adopted aunt sitting with her strange twin sons in the waiting area.
Vera Donovan was a proud woman. She wasn’t as tall as her sister, but she had the same dark hair and blue eyes as her sister. She wore a black blazer and pants with a cream colored shirt under the blazer. On her fingers were the many rings she wore. It was common knowledge that she had spent the money her husband had made at Moreau Medical and he’d killed himself when he learned that he was near bankrupt. Quinn’s father had loaned her quite a bit of money but that was all gone, too.
The twins were identical right down to their greasy hair that was parted to the left. They wore drab clothing that matched in all but color. Steven wore brown while Johnathan wore green. Even their blue eyes looked washed out.
“So you’ve come,” Vera said as he walked into the waiting room.
“Of course I’ve come, Aunt Vera,” he said.
“Your father is in room three twenty and has been asking for you,” she said bitterly. “What kept you, Quinn?”
“I go to school an hour and twenty minutes from here, Aunt Vera,” he said calmly. “I assure you that I got the car, packed a bag and got on the road.”
“Thought of yourself first, I see,” she said coldly.
“I don’t have time for this,” he said, shocking her. “I’m going in to see my father.”
With that he turned and went down the hall to his father’s room. The room was just like the one he’d woken up in after surgery when he was sixteen. It had the same soft beige walls, the same gray tile, the same pair of hospital beds with railings and buttons to call for the nurse or work the television and lights, and the same plastic chairs with black plastic and bright silver metal bases.
His father was in the second bed. There was no patient in the first. Quinn pulled up one of the black plastic chairs to his father’s bedside. He sat down and took his father’s hand. Bart was asleep but the action of taking his hand woke him. He looked over at Quinn and smiled.
“Quinn,” he said. “You’re here.”
“I came as soon as I heard,” Quinn replied. “Dad, are you in any pain?”
“No, Son,” he said. “There’s no pain. I wanted to tell you about the key to my study.”
“Key to your study?” Quinn asked, confused.
“Yes, Son,” he said. “It’s in the drawer beside me. You need it to get to my papers and journals. There are letters from your birth mother and a few things you’ll need. The will is specific all of it goes to you. Don’t let your Aunt Vera bully you. It’s all yours, Quinn. My stock in Moreau Medical, the house, the cars, and all of the money. Don’t let her have any of the money, Quinn. She’ll try to get you to sign it all over to her but you must keep it in your name.”
“I’d never give Vera money, Dad,” Quinn said honestly. “She’d just spend it the way she spent Spencer’s money.”
“Yes, she would,” he said. “The key is in the drawer beside me. Take it and go into the study. Lilly won’t try to stop you. She knows that it’s all yours.”
“I will, Dad, but I need to tell you that I love you,” Quinn said desperately.
“I love you so much, Quinn,” Bart said. Then he went back to sleep.
Quinn reached over and opened the drawer. His father’s wallet and keys were in there. He took the keys and got up. He kissed his index and middle finger and then placed them on his father’s brow. Then he turned and left the room not knowing that this was the last time he’d see his father alive.
“Well you’ve seen your father,” Vera said as he came through the waiting room.
“I have,” he said. “I’m going home to get some things in order.”
“I’ll come with you and get a few of my sister’s things,” she said.
“Now is not the time for that, Vera,” Quinn said. “Come another time. I’ll have her stuff boxed for you.”
“As you wish,” she said. “But you know that when your father dies that house becomes mine.”
“It’s your fantasy, Vera,” he said, smiling. “Tell it any way you want. You’re in for a big surprise when the will is read.”
“You think you know something,” she said, smiling.
“Jesus, Vera,” he spat. “My father isn’t even dead and you’re on me about the house. He warned me that you would do this.”
“Did he,” she said still smiling. “You’re a liar.”
“You’ll see,” he said and walked past to twins and out the door.
He drove straight home and met Lilly, his father’s housekeeper at the door. She was an Asian woman with straight dark hair that was streaked with gray, large dark eyes, and a small mouth that Quinn had only seen smile a lot.
“You’ve been to your father?” she asked.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Quinn said as he handed her his suitcase.
“I put this in room,” she said. “Go to study and see what he left you.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” he said again.
“I bring food,” she said.
“Thank you, Lilly,” he said and went down the hall to the study.
He used the key to unlock the door. Inside the room was just how he remembered it. The paneled walls, the hardwood floor, the floor to ceiling windows behind the huge Mahogany desk, and the book cases that were filled to overflowing with medical books and journals.
Quinn went to the desk and found the papers that his father had told him about. First was the deed to the house, the insurance policies, the letters from his birth mother, and the stack of journals written in his father’s sure neat script. He opened the letters from his birth mother and read about stolen moments and a clandestine affair between a man and his niece. He read about how another niece named Maria had found them and threatened to go to Angelique and tell her all about them. Then he learned that Lisette, his mother had engaged in an affair with Maria’s husband, Walter and had gotten pregnant with his child. Enclosed was a picture of a boy around ten years old.
She’d written that his name was Revanche which meant revenge in their native French. Quinn studied the boy who was his little brother in wonder. His birth mother’s name was Lisette Moreau and she was also his cousin. It was mind boggling yet he didn’t blame them for their affair. They were both young and around each other so much. It was almost understandable.
Quinn read his father’s accounts of the affair in his journals and even read that his father had understood that Quinn had killed Constance, his adoptive mother after she had stabbed him in he chest. Bart wrote that he was so proud of Quinn. All the times that Quinn had caught his father looking at him weren’t in accusation after all. Quinn realized that he was crying as he read his father’s words. He closed the journal and wiped his eyes as Lilly came in carrying a tray of food with her.
He thanked her for the food and sat down to read more while he ate. He learned that Lisette, Maria, Walter, and Revanche lived in a town called Moonlight Bay in California, that a huge family waited for him on the other side of he country, and that he had a brother there in Moonlight Bay who would be sixteen about now.
Before he knew it he was falling asleep. He hadn’t even noticed when Lilly had come to take the dishes and tray away. He looked at the clock on the wall and gasped. It was ten o’clock already. The time had flown while he read. He stretched and then left the room, locking the door as he left it. Then he went to the second floor to his room.
His room was how he’d left it. Lilly had only cleaned it and put away his clothes. The floor had green carpet, the walls were papered with green vines about an inch apart. The double bed was in the alcove, the two-seat couch was in the center of the room with the television, DVD player, and gaming consoles against the wall opposite the door. He stripped out of his clothes and climbed into bed naked as the day he was born.
His phone woke him at five AM with the call that his father had died in his sleep. Quinn sighed as he spoke to Doctor Carlson. Funeral arrangements had already been made so all Quinn had to do was call M. Wallace Morgan to tell him that his client was now deceased. That would have to wait until the law offices of Moreau Legal opened at nine.
He got up and showered in his private bathroom. Then he was dressed in jeans and a Polo shirt with his dress shoes on his feet. Lilly cried when he told her that his father was dead. She hugged him tightly and told him that he was the boss now. That made him feel funny in the pit of his stomach.
She put breakfast on the table in the dining room and he sat and ate, feeling strange and wanting to burst into tears every five minutes. His father was dead. It had happened. It didn’t seem real. Could it really have been that he had seen his father alive just yesterday? He couldn’t stop thinking about that.
Then he remembered that Vera wanted Constance’s things. He asked Lilly to put all of Constance’s things in boxes and bring them to the front door. Lilly told him that all of Constance’s things were already in boxes. He asked her to bring them down to the front door. He wasn’t letting Vera in the house until after the will was read.
Then someone rang the doorbell. He sighed when he heard it. It was probably Vera already. Lilly went to answer the door and came back with Charlie which startled Quinn. What was he doing there?
“This is friend,” Lilly said.
“Yes, Lilly, thank you,” Quinn said. “Ask Kim to help you with the boxes. Is he here?”
“Yes,” she said. “We live here in apartment in east wing.”
“All right,” he said. “Thank you, Lilly.”
“I leave you to bring boxes,” she said and then left him alone with Charlie.
“What are you doing here?” Quinn asked with a smile.
“You’re here about your father,” he said. “You told me you don’t get along with your family. I thought you could use a friend.”
“I could at that,” Quinn laughed. “You just surprised me.”
“How is your father?” Charlie asked.
“He died at four-thirty this morning,” Quinn replied.
“I’m so sorry to hear that, Quinn,” said Charlie.
“Thank you,” Quinn said. “Have you eaten? Lilly made enough to feed three.”
“I haven’t,” Charlie said as he came into the room.
“Sit, eat,” Quinn said. “Did Lilly take your bag?”
“I haven’t brought it in from the car,” said Charlie.
“Well, sit and eat,” he said.
Then he called the law office and talked to M. Walter Morgan’s secretary. He told her that Bartholomew Moreau had died at four-thirty this morning and he was calling to ask that Mr. Morgan prepare and read the will after the funeral. He was told that Mr. Morgan was in a meeting but would call him back when the meeting was over.
Then he just sat and watched Charlie eat pancakes, sausage, and toast. Charlie said nothing as he ate. Quinn sat thinking about who else he had to call to tell them that Bart was dead. He didn’t know who else to call. They already knew that he was dead at Moreau Medical and they’d soon know he was dead at Moreau Legal. There weren’t anymore people to call as far as he knew.
Then he thought of the insurance company. He quickly looked at his folder of papers and found their number and his father’s policy number. He called them and told them that their client was deceased and told them who he was. They asked many questions about his bank accounts and such. He answered them, taking a check out of his checkbook to read them the account number and routing number. Then he got off the phone.
“Get that all out of the way?” Charlie asked as he looked up from his clean plate.
“At least until Mr. Morgan calls me,” he said with a sigh. “I found out about my family in Moonlight Bay, California and plan to head there for the summer to meet them all. Other than that it’s just waiting for the funeral and the will to be read.”
“Damn, Quinn,” Charlie said. “That seems like a lot.”
“It does, but I have to get through this,” Quinn replied.
“I’ll be here with you as long as you need me,” Charlie said.
“Thank you for that,” Quinn said. “I lost a lot of friends when my adopted mother died.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because I felt like I’d killed her,” Quinn said. “I shut everyone out.”
“How could you kill her?” Charlie asked. “I thought she had an aneurysm.”
“She did,” he said. “I just felt responsible.”
“She stabbed you in the chest with a kitchen knife, Quinn,” Charlie said. “You didn’t kill her, she tried to kill you.”
“Speaking of that,” Quinn said with a sigh. “I found out who my birth mother is and where she is.”
“That’s great,” Charlie said with a smile.
“Wait until you hear who she is,” Quinn said. “Lisette Moreau is the niece of Bart Moreau.”
“Your dad impregnated his niece?” Charlie asked wide-eyed.
“Yes,” Quinn said. “She also got pregnant with her sister’s husband’s baby and named him Revanche which means revenge in French.”
“Wow,” Charlie said.
“Yeah,” Quinn replied.
“Wait,” said Charlie. “Your mother and brother live with this family in Moonlight Bay?”
“That’s right,” Quinn said. “The family is supposedly huge.”
“Man, Quinn that sounds like a landmine you’re about to walk into this summer,” Charlie said.
“It does, but I’m going,” Quinn said. “They’re all family.”
“Boxes by door,” Lilly said as she came in and took their empty dishes. “You friend stay?”
“Yes, Lilly,” Quinn said. “Thank you. Please put Charlie in the room next to mine.”
“No bags?” she asked Charlie.
“They’re in my car,” he said. “I’ll get them and take them into the room.”
“Yes,” she said. “Follow please.”
Charlie got up and followed Lilly out of the room. Quinn just smiled. She’d been in America all of his life but she hadn’t lost her accent or her special way of speaking English. Kim, her husband was much the same. They were like family to Quinn but he had to make sure they were paid too.
He sat, drinking his coffee and waited for Charlie to come back. In the mean time his phone rang. It was Mr. Morgan with details about the reading of the will which would happen the day after the funeral. He told Quinn that the funeral was Friday evening with visitation set for that morning. Quinn thanked him and promised to be in his office on Saturday.
Friday was the day after next. Quinn would spend the day in his father’s study getting to know the payroll, money for maintenance, groceries, and such. He just had to wait for Charlie to come back. It was a few minutes later when Charlie came back into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. He sat and looked at Quinn.
“I have to spend the day in my father’s study learning about household expenses, paying Lilly and Kim and such,” Quinn said.
“Sounds like a chore,” said Charlie.
“I’m Master of the House,” he said. “I have to know how to run it.”
They took their coffee and headed to the study. If Charlie thought it odd that the door was locked he said nothing as Quinn produced the key to unlock the door. Charlie sat in one of the ladder-back chairs in front of the desk and Quinn went behind the desk to sit and look through papers.
It was all there. The accounts, the payments, the amount to place in the accounts for household expenses and maintenance. Quinn just sighed in relief as he now knew how to do it all. It would take a day or two to get all of the accounts in his name and he didn’t feel comfortable touching anything until that was done.
It was just as they were about to sit down for dinner that Vera came for her sister’s things. Quinn showed her to the boxes and John and Steve helped her carry them to her SUV. She was cold as ice as she reminded him that the house now belonged to her. He was just as cold when he told her that the will would be read on Saturday and then it would all be settled and she cold go her merry way.
“What a cold woman,” Charlie said as Quinn closed and locked the front door. He pushed the button on the panel beside the door to close the gate after he was sure that Vera was gone.
“You don’t know the half of it,” he said.
“And she’s family?” Charlie asked.
“Not my family,” Quinn replied. “She is Constance’s sister and I refuse to ever call Constance my mother again. So in my opinion, Vera Donovan is just a cold bitch who used to be my father’s sister in law.”
“Damn, Quinn,” laughed Charlie. “Tell me how you really feel.”
“Well you’ve seen and heard the woman at her best,” Quinn said. “She spent all of her family money then all of her husband’s money. The man killed himself when he learned he was near destitute because of his wife. You saw the twins. She’s morphed them into strange people that I could never relate to.”
“Remind me never to get on your bad side,” laughed Charlie.
“You’ll see just how fake she can be at the funeral tomorrow,” said Quinn. “I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.”
They went into the dining room and Lilly served them roast beef with potatoes and carrots. She put the food in front of them and then poured coffee and water for them. She stopped before leaving the room and turned.
“Miss Vera not nice person,” she said to Quinn. “She say mean things to us all of time.”
“Miss Vera isn’t welcome in the house unless I am in residence,” Quinn said. “She’ll keep a civil tongue in her mouth while she’s here or she’ll leave.”
“Thank you,” Lilly said before leaving the room.
“Why would she come back? You gave her all of her sister’s stuff, right?” asked Charlie.
“Every last bit of it,” Quinn replied. “But this is Vera Donovan we’re talking about. God knows why she’d come back here but she will. Mark my words. She’ll show her face a few more times before she gets the memo.”
They spent the evening in the living room. Lilly came and went with coffee and juice. Quinn switched from coffee to juice after dinner. They talked about the funeral that would be the next night. Quinn told Charlie that they would encounter Vera at either the visitation at eight in the morning or at the funeral at six PM. Quinn was sure she’d be at both.
When they went up to bed Charlie shocked Quinn by hugging him. He said nothing about it. He just went to his own room and closed the door. Quinn stood in the hall and watched as Charlie went to his room.
The next morning they dressed in black suits with white shirts and black ties. They were driven to the visitation in a limousine sent by Mr. Morgan. The visitation was held at St. Mary’s Parish where Bart and Quinn had gone to church most of the time. Father Marcus would perform the funeral rights later that night.
As predicted Vera was there with John and Steve. Quinn liked to needle her by calling the twins John and Steve instead of Johnathan and Steven. It rankled her and he loved it. It was petty, he knew but nobody was perfect.
There they saw many of his father’s colleagues and friends. Doctor Bartholomew Moreau was quite popular with rather influential people in Rochester. Quinn wasn’t planning to be so popular with this crowd.
Mr. Morgan and his wife were there and Mr. Morgan told Quinn that all of the accounts would be in his name when they went to the bank on Monday. Quinn was happy to hear it. Vera wasn’t far enough from them any time that they talked that morning not to hear what the lawyer said to him.
The visitation lasted until noon and then there was a meal at Quinn’s house which Lilly and Kim were preparing. They road in the limo again this time back to the house. Of course Vera and the twins came to the dinner as well. However Mr. and Mrs. Morgan came as well.
It was set up as a buffet that people could take food and mingle in the living room or the dining room. Vera and the twins avoided Quinn like the plague which was fine with him. He was too busy thinking about his father as he was supposed to be doing. He did finally eat something when Charlie handed him a plate with his favorite foods on it. Quinn spent only a fraction of time wondering how Charlie knew his favorite foods already. Then he went back to thinking of his father.
Then he heard her. Vera was talking to the lawyer and she was getting a bit loud. He walked over just in time to hear Mr. Morgan say, “Your presence tomorrow is not required. Only those mentioned in the will are to be there and Quinn is the only one mentioned in the will.”
“But my sister had money of her own,” Vera said indignantly.
“Yes, but as you know that was all left to her husband upon her death,” said Mr. Morgan. “All of that is in the estate which is not left to you or your sons.”
“I’ll have my lawyer talk to you,” said Vera.
“It won’t do any good,” said Mr. Morgan. “I shouldn’t be telling you this but you and your sons are excluded by name and it’s air tight.”
“We’ll see about that,” she said and walked off.
Quinn left Mr. Morgan alone. He was sure the man knew how to handle Vera Donovan. He went back to shaking hands with people he didn’t know or knew vaguely from the business world of his late father. Some of them remarked on how young he was to be in charge of so much. That didn’t sit well with him but he smiled and nodded at them whenever they said such things.
Charlie was on hand to rescue him when things got too hot for him to handle. He was thankful for that. It was doing a number on him that Charlie had shown up and was so handy. That crush he had on Charlie was growing deeper and deeper by the minute. He just added that to the list of things that he wanted and couldn’t have.
The dinner went on until five o’clock when they all headed to the church. There was a bit of a tussle when Quinn insisted that Charlie sit in the family seats next to him. Vera had a small fit when he told her that she and the twins were not sitting in the family seats. Finally they walked away and he was left with Charlie who told him he’d never been to a catholic funeral before. Quinn warned him that it wold be a long service.
Long it was, too. Quinn fidgeted in his seat almost as much as Charlie did. He noticed this and smiled. Finally it was time to go to the cemetery where there would be more service, but it would be the tail end of the whole thing. Catholic funeral rites were long but beautiful.
In truth, his father wasn’t going to be entombed at the cemetery in Rochester. His body was being flown back to Moonlight Bay, California to be entombed in the family vault there. Quinn had learned of this just after learning about the family there in Moonlight Bay.
Quinn was pleasantly surprised to find that the grave site service was shorter and they were all released to go their separate ways after the plaque was installed on the wall in the mausoleum. He wasn’t happy that the plaque was beside the one for Constance but he didn’t make a scene. It was just a plaque. His father’s body was already on a plane. He hoped that he was next to someone that he really loved.
Back at the house Lilly made them refreshments and coffee. They sat in the living room and talked about a lot of things that didn’t touch the funeral or his problem with Vera. Quinn was happy about the conversation. Charlie was keeping his mind off of the whole thing. That made him happy but he had trouble without telling Charlie that he was going to make him fall in love with him.
Quinn finally went to bed around eleven. He had a full day with Mr. Morgan tomorrow or so he thought. He had no idea what all was in the will but he was happy that Vera and her sons had been excluded. There would be no lawsuit that could break up his inheritance. It was all his and that’s the way it was supposed to be.
The next morning he had breakfast with Charlie and then headed to the law offices of Moreau Legal. He arrived right on time for his appointment with Mr. Morgan. The secretary, an attractive blonde with wide green eyes gave him coffee with a smile. He was taken into the office and sat in a chair to wait for Mr. Morgan to come in.
Mr. Morgan came in and Quinn, never having seen him in this light thought he was a very distinguished looking man with salt and pepper hair and dark eyes. He wore a black suit much the same as the one he had worn to the funeral the day before. He smiled when he saw Quinn and extended his hand.
“Quinn, it’s good to see you but I wish it was under different circumstances,” he said.
“Hello again, Mr. Morgan,” Quinn replied.
“Let’s get to the grit of this meeting so we can get everything out of the way,” Mr. Morgan said walking around the black marble desk to take his seat. He pulled a file folder out of a drawer and began going through the papers inside.
“First let me assure you that Vera Donovan and her sons are excluded from the will and can’t trouble you,” said Mr. Morgan.
“Thank you,” said Quinn.
“Now, your father has left you everything from his stock in Moreau Medical, Moreau Legal, and Moreau Enterprises,” said Mr. Morgan. “I could read the wording of the will but this way seems more personal.”
“Thank you,” Quinn said again.
“There is the amount of the estate in monetary value,” said Mr. Morgan as he wrote a number on a piece of paper and slid it over to Quinn. “That’s in the accounts at present. Now part of that number is in the household account that Lilly and Kim use to keep the house and grounds running in tip top shape. There’s also an account that pays both of them for the service they provide.”
“So in the future I just put money in that account so they can be paid?” Quinn asked.
“Right,” he said. “So far there is enough to pay them for the rest of the year. You’ll do this yearly. Now, the household account has close to a million in it now. Just make sure it doesn’t get to zero.”
“All right,” Quinn said. “And I’ll be able to do this from school?”
“Of course,” said Mr. Morgan, handing Quinn a stack of papers. “Initial and date the first and sign the rest.”
“This is banking information?” Quinn asked.
“This will move all monetary funds from your father’s account to yours,” said Mr. Morgan. “I will turn these into the bank tomorrow. Now when you’re done with those I’d like to go over stocks with you and let you know exactly what it means to own stock in the companies I have listed.”
“Thank you,” said Quinn.
In the end he was in the law office past lunch. Mr. Morgan ordered in and they ate lunch together while he continued to tell Quinn about the stocks of each of the three companies, charities his father gave to, and all else involved in the estate. Quinn was a bit overwhelmed but tried not to show it. It wasn’t every day that you suddenly became the Master of an estate of this size.
By the time he reached the house he was exhausted. He was happy to know that everything was done but he missed his father like crazy. He walked through the door to find Charlie in the library reading a book about the history of New York. He almost laughed out loud at seeing it but held himself.
“What are you reading?” he asked although he already knew.
“Just something to pass the time,” Charlie said. “You were gone all day long.”
“Well if it makes you feel better, we’re leaving for school tomorrow,” Quinn said.
“We are?” Charlie asked, wide-eyed. “I thought you had to be here Monday to go to the bank and change everything over to your name.”
“I took care of all of the paperwork in Mr. Morgan’s office today,” he said. “He’ll file it all at the bank. I even singed a signature card for the accounts and I’m done with it all. I just have to make sure there’s money in certain accounts to pay Lilly and Kim and to keep this place going while I’m not here to oversee it.”
“Sounds good,” Charlie said. “Should I pack?”
“I’m going to,” laughed Quinn. “I don’t want to waste any time.”
They both got packed up and ready to go before dinner. Lilly looked sad when they came down to eat. She ruffled Quinn’s dark hair and smiled a sad smile at him as she served him ham and potatoes. In truth Quinn was a little sad to be leaving. To him it was almost like abandoning his father’s memory. So much in the house reminded him of his father. He must return to school though. That was the plan all along. Come and take care of all of this and once it was done go back to school and get his degree.
After dinner they sat in the living room. Quinn was happy that he’d heard nothing from Vera since the funeral. Maybe he could get out of town without encountering her again. He hoped. Charlie talked about getting back to school and what classes they’d missed. Quinn had a work study for each of his classes other than the labs. He’d assumed that Charlie had done the same thing. He didn’t bring it up though.
By the time he went up to bed he was dog tired. He’d never thought that signing paperwork and signature cards could be so draining. He was asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.
Shortly after Quinn got up the next morning his phone rang. It was Mr. Morgan who asked him to come to the office before he left for school. He said he’d be there but he wondered what this was about. He hoped it wasn’t about Vera.
“I have to go to Moreau Legal before we head back to school,” Quinn said to Charlie at breakfast.
“What’s up?” Charlie asked.
“Not sure, but Mr. Morgan asked me to make sure I stopped by the office before I left,” Quinn said.
“Lawyer on Sunday,” Charlie mused, shaking his head.
“Lawyer on Saturday,” laughed Quinn.
“You were with him most of the day,” Charlie said. “What could he have forgotten to tell you?”
“I don’t know,” Quinn replied. “I’m hoping this isn’t about Vera.”
“You think it might be?” Charlie asked.
“I told you she might show her face again,” Quinn said with a sigh.
“I hope it isn’t her,” said Charlie.
“Me too,” said Quinn.
At the office he was happy to see that there was no secretary and no Vera. He knocked on the door to Mr. Morgan’s office and waited. Mr. Morgan appeared in jeans and black Polo shirt with sandals on his feet.
“Quinn, come in,” he said, stepping aside to allow Quinn to enter the office.
“You said it was urgent,” Quinn prompted.
“Yes, there is something I didn’t mention or show you yesterday,” said Mr. Morgan when he was behind his desk and Quinn was seated before him. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a ring box. It was large. Quinn hadn’t seen one that large before. Also it was made from black glass. “Here. I’ll give you this before I explain.”
“Okay,” Quinn said, taking the box from Mr. Morgan and sitting it on the desk in front of himself.
“The Moreau family has many holdings,” Mr. Morgan began. “They have more money than most people in the world. They’re in shipping and receiving and many other things. I don’t have information on their wealth. What I had in my possession was the ring. Now in a moment I’ll ask you to try it on. Your father couldn’t wear it, but you being the son of Lisette Moreau may make a difference.”
“I don’t understand,” Quinn admitted.
“I’ll do what I can to explain but my knowledge of the Moreau family practices and rituals is very vague,” said Mr. Morgan. “You’ll put the ring on your finger and if it doesn’t burn and itch until you take it off you will become the heir to the Legacy of the Moreau family.”
“I don’t understand this,” Quinn said, looking at the ring box. “How is it supposed to burn and sting until I take it off?”
“It’s spelled that way,” said Mr. Morgan with a straight face.
“Spelled?”
“Quinn, the entire Moreau family are witches of one sort or another,” Mr. Morgan said.
Quinn thought about this for a moment. Spells? Witches? Could he be one? Was that why he could kill with his mind? He supposed it was possible. If he could kill with his mind then he supposed it was possible that he was a witch.
“Let me try it on and we’ll see what’s what,” he said, taking the box and opening it to find a man’s golden ring with a ruby mounted on the front.
He slid the ring out of the box and placed it on his right ring finger. Then he sat back and waited to see what would happen. It didn’t burn or itch. Instead his hand felt warm like he’d been in the sun all day. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling at all.
“How do you feel?” Mr. Morgan asked.
“Fine,” Quinn replied. “It feels like any other ring on my finger.”
“Then you are the Heir to the Legacy of the Moreau family,” Mr. Morgan said. He looked a little stunned. “There’s a ruby necklace that goes with it. It’s currently in the possession of Lisette Moreau the current Heiress to the Legacy.”
“Are there mostly heiresses?” Quinn asked.
“You mean does the legacy usually pass between the female line?”
“Yes,” Quinn said. “Is it unusual for a man to be the heir?”
“No, it isn’t unusual,” Mr. Morgan said. “It doesn’t always follow that a parent being the heir would pass it to an offspring. This time it seems that’s what is to happen, but it doesn’t happen every time.”
“What do I have to do?” Quinn asked.
“Go to Moonlight Bay and be confirmed as the Heir in waiting,” said Mr. Morgan.
“So I’m just supposed to show up in Moonlight Bay, California and say that I’m the long lost son of Lisette Moreau?” Quinn asked. “You do know that I have a brother, right?”
“Revanche Moreau,” Mr. Morgan said, nodding. “He can’t be the heir because he isn’t of the right parentage.”
“You mean because his father wasn’t a Moreau?” Quinn asked, disgusted by the thought.
“No,” he said. “His father isn’t a witch at all.”
“Oh,” he said, startled by that for some reason.
“You’re a witch,” said Mr. Morgan. “Your father was a witch, and his sister was the heiress until she died and her daughter, Lisette became the heiress.”
“And I can be the heir because I have two Moreau parents?” Quinn asked.
“Actually that says a lot about you in their world,” Mr. Morgan said, not looking a bit disgusted by it.
“All right,” Quinn sighed. “So I have to go to Moonlight Bay, California and let them know that I’m the son of Lisette and Bartholomew Moreau, and I wear the ruby ring?”
“Something like that,” said Mr. Morgan. “Quinn I don’t know how to prepare you for the family that you’re going to be a part of as the heir. I do know that you have to live in Moonlight Bay to remain the heir. It’s worded like this, ‘The heir or heiress must have a legal residence in Moonlight Bay, California.’ There’s more to it but I don’t know the rest of it.”
“So I have to live there,” Quinn said. “Will they at least wait until I finish college?”
“There is a college in Moonlight Bay,” he said. “They may insist that you attend that college.”
“Is it a good school at least?”
“One of the top ten,” Mr. Morgan said.
“Why didn’t my father tell me any of this?” Quinn asked.
“Because when he left with you nineteen years ago he turned his back on the family, Quinn,” said Mr. Morgan. “I will be honest with you, your father didn’t want this for you. But if you don’t go to Moonlight Bay and Lisette dies, there will be no heir or heiress until you die.”
“Do you happen to have information on this school in Moonlight Bay?” Quinn asked with a sigh.
“I do,” he said and handed Quinn a file. “I took steps to get you accepted in case you chose to go to Moonlight Bay.”
“It seems I have no choice in the matter,” Quinn said. “The Legacy will be unmanned if I don’t go.”
“Oh they’ll do it by committee,” he said. “A board of sorts if you don’t show up.”
“I had planned to at least meet with Lisette to discuss why she let me go in the first place,” admitted Quinn. “I was just going to do it this summer.”
“Whatever you decide I want you to know that it has been a privilege to be you and your father’s attorney,” he said. “I’m a witch but nowhere near as powerful as a Moreau witch.”
Quinn was stunned to silence by this admission.
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