about?
“Do you know that the thirty-day deadline ends tomorrow?” she asks. “Before you blame the lawyers, they provided Blaire with a copy of their call log where they can show you how many times they tried to get in touch with you. In case you are about to defend her, Mommy Dearest answered a few times.”
My heart stops. No, this can’t be real. I was so careful. All the breath is sucked out of my lungs when I remember that I had a hunch, but I was so focused on too many other things that the date discrepancy escaped me.
“Is it tonight at midnight or tomorrow at midnight?” I ask, trying to remember the dates and the discrepancy for that matter.
Fuck, I’m so thorough. How did I let this one go?
“Tomorrow, Saturday at midnight,” she confirms. “Blaire got ahold of Vance, but it seems like he’s not coming. Hayes and Henry are in Vancouver with Beacon trying to convince him and Mills.”
I let out a loud breath. “Let me get a charter to fly back. I’ve only packed part of my things. I thought I had more time. Maybe Sophia can hire a company to finish for me.”
“Why are you not surprised about what your mother did?”
“It seems like my mother doesn’t care if she has to eat her young to win,” I confess. “This is something she’d do in a heartbeat. Make sure to get a two-bedroom suite at The Lodge for us so the dogs can have the choice to sleep wherever they want.”
“There’s a no pet policy,” she announces.
“I own part of the place. They’re not staying at the barn tonight,” I state and hang up the phone.
An hour later, I’m at the airport about to board the private jet when my phone rings. It’s Henry.
“I’m on my way,” I tell him, fucking annoyed because I just had a big fight with my mother. I guess we won’t be spending any holidays together in the foreseeable future.
According to Nyx, my mother gave the order to ignore all the calls related to my father’s lawyer, his will, and Baker’s Creek. Well, she told everyone but my team. She wasn’t planning on helping me at all. If possible, she might’ve paid Parrish to screw us so we lose the money. It’s not about the fucking money. It’s about the town.
Henry growls, on the other line, “Did your family try to fuck us over?”
Yes, they did. I won’t admit it to you over the phone because I don’t have the time nor the energy to deal with more nonsense.
“Mom insists it was a mistake because they’re all busy,” I lie.
“And you believe her?”
“She doesn’t win anything if I stay or go,” I respond. Unless he counts the pleasure to fuck me over because she’s so unhappy. She fucks over everyone—including her son. “Why would I believe Mr. Parrish?”
I redirect his attention. That guy is also on my list of people I’m going to have fun suing just for breathing. According to Hayes, he made him sign a POA to take care of my father’s remains. That’s not a fucking thing. He was diseased. My brother needs a few lessons in common sense in the legal field.
Don’t sign without your lawyer present—ever.
“Because if she’s like my mother,” Henry says with an aggravated voice, “She’s still pissed at William and at us, his children.”
That sounds just like Sarah Bryant. Ding, ding, ding, Henry. You just hit the jackpot.
“Listen, I don’t want you to fight with your mother, but I want you to be aware that Merkel Hotels and Spas is firing them,” he states firmly, and I’m happy that I now don’t have to tell him that he has to fire them. “I don’t feel comfortable doing business with people who can’t pass on a simple message, especially one that almost makes me lose a deal. With that said, make sure you help Blaire with tomorrow’s deliveries.”
“If that’s all, I have a plane to catch,” I hang up.
Around eleven, after I’m settled in the suite and the kids are already sleeping on one of the beds, I order a bottle of Macallan.
“Are you okay?” Leyla asks me.
I shake my head. “I’ve been driving all fucking day, flew back and forth, and we don’t know if all this was worth the effort because my mother can’t let the past go.”
“Did you talk to her?”
I nod and go to the door when room service arrives.
I look at Leyla and tell her, “Come with me.”
“Where