The Devil You Know: Chapter 28

When the phone rang at Harry Redding’s home the next morning, it was the last person he expected to here from.  “Um, I may need a lawyer, if you can help out,” Todd Manning said on the other end.

“What would you need a lawyer for?” Harry asked. 

“Well, I can tell you over breakfast.  Meet me here in, say, an hour?” Todd asked. 

Harry thought about it and agreed.  One hour later, he was sitting in the hotel’s restaurant opposite Todd. “So, what do you need a lawyer for, now that I’m here?”

Todd handed Harry the papers Ric Lansing drew up a few weeks ago.  “When Peter died, he left everything to his last girlfriend.  At the time, I didn’t know I was adopted and I was furious.  A few months later, I found out I was Victor Lord’s son and left a trust of thirty million dollars.  When I was meeting with the trustees, they told me Peter was paid fifty grand a quarter from the time I was eighteen for my care.  The checks were cashed, but I never saw the money,” Todd informed him, his face clouding over with anger.  “Hell, I never knew I was even adopted until Peter’s lawyer found letter Bitsy wrote me for years afterwards.”

“So. You’re suing Connie Bensoncroft for the money that Peter got?” Harry asked.

“Yeah.  I want to use it to set up trust funds for my nephews.  Sam isn’t biologically mine.  He should be but he’s  not.  He’s my  brother Victor’s and Blair adopted him when his mother died.  Victor also has another son, Leo with his wife, Tea, who’s my ex-wife who I have a child with and Victor adopted…” Todd rambled on.  When he could tell Harry was getting lost, he simply said, “It’s a really long story.”

“You and your long stories.  You should write a book,” Harry joked.

“One’s already been done, and it doesn’t have half this stuff.”

“So, what do you need me for?” Harry asked.

“Well, you’re a lawyer, so, act the part today.  I’m gonna shove this papers at Connie…” Todd growled.

“Hold up,” Harry said, trying to calm him.  Sighing deeply, he said, “I will help you--”

“Thank you,” Todd replied.

“But we do it my way.  Now, as luck would have it, I now work in wills and estates, so this is my area of expertise.”  Harry perused the paperwork before he continued.  “Your lawyer did a very thorough job here.  It seems in order.  How were you planning on delivering them?”

“I got her address so I was just going to go over there and hand them over,” Todd said.

Harry shook his head.  “No, I think I have a better way of going about this,” he said as he laid out his plan to Todd. 

It was later in the morning when an older blonde woman answered the door at her home.  Harry was standing there, a pleasant smile on his face.  “Ms. Bensoncroft?” he asked kindly.

“Mrs. Finchner, now, Mr?” the woman replied.

“Harry Redding.  May I come in?  I’m an attorney and I’m here on behalf of my client,” he told her.  “This is something we should discuss in private.”  When he was seated in her living room, Harry continued.  “My client is suing the estates of Peter Manning for the amount of $1.4 million.  The records show that you where the heir to that estate.”

Connie took a deep breath.  “I took care of Peter in his last months.  Besides, he had no children to leave it to.”

“On the contrary, he had a son, Todd Manning--”

“Todd, the human waste.  Peter cut him off after he raped a woman.  It wouldn’t surprise me if he finally died in a ditch somewhere,” Connie spat out in disgust.

Harry smiled, shark-like.  “Mr. Manning is my client, Mrs. Finchner.”  He handed over the legal papers.  “He is seeking money owed by the estate of Peter Manning to the Lord trustees that Mr. Manning took for the care of Todd from the ages of eighteen to twenty-five.”

“The Lord trustees?  What are you saying?”  Connie asked uncomfortably.

“Todd Manning is the biological son of newspaper publisher Victor Lord of Llanview, Pennsylvania.  Peter Manning was paid fifty thousand dollars a quarter over those seven years, none of which the younger Mr. Manning ever saw.  He never even knew he was adopted until Peter was lying on his deathbed,” explained Harry. 

“So now, he want that money?  I’m guessing he inherited something from that father and he, what, blew threw it at last?”  Connie threw the papers on the floor.  “You can tell you client to go to hell.  Peter cut him off and he’ll never see one red cent from me.  I was owed that money.”  As she finished her rant, the bell rang again.  When she went to open the door, she found an older Todd Manning standing there. 

“Hello Connie,” he said as he sauntered past her. 

“What the Hell are you doing here?” she practically yelled.

Todd, for his part, gave her an innocent look, as Harry threw an annoyed glare in his direction.  This was not what they had discussed.  But Todd said, “Well, my attorney here was supposed to give you papers telling you I want that money Peter stole form me and my family.  But then again, it was the only reason he kept me around at all, isn’t that right?”

“Todd,” Harry cautioned. 

“So, what, you want the money?  Spent everything your real daddy left you,” Connie mocked.

Todd merely smiled.  “Actually, no.  I have a thriving business, gained from the thirty million I was left.  Publishing, as a matter of fact.  The Sun  family of newspapers in Llanview and Port Charles.  Manning Enterprises, which puts out fashion magazines and other things.  I have to say, I was pretty smart when I got the money.”

“Then why do you want a measly million?” Connie asked.

“One point four million, to be exact.  I have two nephews who I think can put it to better use when they’re older than you or Peter ever did.”  He looked at her with the same level of disgust she did all those years ago in Peter’s lawyer’s office.  Then he walked to the door.  “Oh, an I’m so glad I could make this trip to see you.”  With that, he left.

Harry looked back at Connie.  “I’m sure I will be hearing from you or your lawyers.  Good day, Mrs. Finchner.”  Then he was gone as well.

When they were back in the car, Harry turned to him.  “I’m guessing there’s some meaning to that last comment.”

Instead of replying, Todd asked, “You got a recommendation for dinner tonight?”

Much later in the evening, Todd and Blair walked into a local steakhouse and found Harry already there.  As they sat down, Harry informed Todd, “I already heard from Mrs. Finchner’s attorney.  They will be fighting the suit.”

“I wouldn’t have expected anything less from that bitch.  Whatever.  You’ll be continuing to represent me, though?” Todd asked as he perused the menu.

“Of course.  I wish I could have done more all those years ago, but Barbara would want me to do this,” Harry replied. 

“Harry, I don’t mean to be rude, but you always call her Barbara.  In all the years I’ve been with Todd, he always called her Bitsy.  Why?” Blair asked.

“That was Peter thinking he was being cute, but he was really putting her down.  After we got together, I called her that once and she broke down in tears.  I realized the meaning of it for her and I never said it again,”  Harry explained.  “By the way, these are for you.”  He handed Todd a gift bag with many of the framed photographs that had been out the day before.  “Your wife said you may want them for your home, so please take them.  Your mother would have wanted you to have them.”

A lump formed in Todd’s throat to the point that when he tried to speak, no words came out.  Blair took his hand and said to Harry.  “Thank you so much.  You have no idea what this means to Todd and I.”

Todd looked up at his stepfather.  “You know, between the two of us, our kids have like, five grandparents and only one who we’d even want them to acknowledge.  I mean, her mother is sweet and all, but she’s a little,” Todd pointed to his head and circled his finger there.  “I was wondering, but I’m sure you can’t, but it would be really nice if you could maybe be kinda like a grandfather to them?”

Now a lump was in Harry throat.  After taking a sip of water, he smiled and said, “I would like that very much myself.  I don’t have children, but I would love to consider your sons and daughter to be my family.”

Blair felt terrible for the man.  “You never had any children of your own?”

“No.  Barbara, of course, couldn’t have any and my first wife died before we were married three years.  The only thing I have that I could even consider family is a nephew and nieces she has from her sister.  But I haven’t seen them since that sister got married,” Harry said. 

“Well, then, you now have three grandchildren,” Blair declared. 

As the evening went on, they got to talking more about Todd’s mother.  Near the end, Harry asked, “When will you be heading home?”

“We leave tomorrow, as a matter of fact.  They boys have been out of school for too long, but this needed to get done,” Todd informed him.

“What are your plans for the holidays?” Blair asked.

“I usually don’t do much,” Harry said.

“You’re doing something this year.  You come to Port Charles and send it with us,” Blair said enthusiastically.  She looked to Todd, who was also nodding at Harry.

“Oh, I don’t know…” Harry began.

“In fact, come a week or so earlier.  There’s this fundraiser I’m sponsoring, my sisters are going to be there, you can meet them,”  Todd said.  “Look, we won’t take no for an answer.”

Harry thought about it and agreed.  They finished off dinner and headed back to the hotel, where Harry said good-bye to Starr, Jack and Sam.  He promised them he’d be seeing them shortly. 

With that, Todd saw him down to the lobby.  “Take care.  I’ll keep you informed about the suit.”  He shook Todd’s hand.  “I look forward to my visit with you.  Safe trip.’

Todd held his hand a minute longer.  “Thank you.  All this, it was really unexpected.”

“Why?  You are the son of the woman I loved.  If things had been different, I would have adopted you myself.”  With that, Harry left, a tear sliding down his cheek for the boy he had never had the chance to know, and the man he was happy to have met.     



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