I blinked, shocked. “What?”

“She left you $20,000 in her will,” he said, frowning. “I assumed you knew.”

Suddenly, everything clicked — the red convertible, Maverick’s sudden wealth. Rage surged through me as I realized he had taken the money Gran left for me. My fists clenched as I muttered, “I didn’t know.”

Without wasting a second, I drove straight to Maverick’s trailer, ready to confront him. But when I arrived, the red convertible was wrecked in the driveway, its bumper smashed, windshield shattered, and tires flat. Maverick stood in the doorway on crutches, his face bruised and cut. Karma had already paid him a visit.

“Maverick, what the hell happened?” I asked, my anger momentarily giving way to shock.

He looked away, uncomfortable. “It’s… nothing.”

I gestured at the destroyed car. “That doesn’t look like nothing. Why did you take Gran’s money?”

He winced. “I didn’t mean for it to go like this, Juniper. I was going to pay you back, but then I saw that car…”

“You don’t just ‘borrow’ $20,000 that wasn’t left to you!” I snapped. “Gran left that money for me. She was the only one who cared about me, and you took it like it was nothing.”

Maverick hung his head, unable to respond. Just then, my phone buzzed. It was Mr. Clearwater, Gran’s lawyer.

“Juniper, there’s something you should know,” he began. “Your grandmother predicted this might happen. The $20,000 was only a portion of her estate. The rest of it — her house, savings, investments — it’s all yours. She left everything to you.”

I could hardly believe it. Gran had seen this betrayal coming and had protected me, even in death. She had always been looking out for me, reminding me that I mattered.

I turned to Maverick, who stood broken, both physically and emotionally. “I hope that convertible was worth it,” I said, my voice steady. “Because you’ll never take anything from me again.”

And for the first time in my life, I felt like I wasn’t the forgotten one. Gran had made sure of that.