“She’s the only person I’ve let past the gates,” Oren assured me. “Frankly, she’s the only one I intend to let past those gates for the foreseeable future.”
I probably should have found that more comforting than I did.
“How is she?” Alisa asked Oren as soon as we exited the SUV.
“Pissed,” I answered, before Oren could reply on my behalf. “Sore. A little terrified.” Seeing her—and seeing Oren standing next to her—broke the dam, and an accusation burst out of me. “You both told me I would be fine! You swore that I was not in danger. You acted like I was being ridiculous when I mentioned murder.”
“Technically,” my lawyer replied, “you specifiedax-murder. And technically,” she continued through gritted teeth, “it is possible that there was an oversight, legally speaking.”
“What kind of oversight? You told me that if I died, the Hawthornes wouldn’t get a penny!”
“And I stand by that conclusion,” Alisa said emphatically. “However…” She clearly found any admission of fault distasteful. “I also told you that if you died while the will was in probate, your inheritance would pass through to your estate. And typically, it would.”
“Typically,” I repeated. If there was one thing I’d learned in the past week, it was that there was nothingtypicalabout Tobias Hawthorne—or his heirs.
“However,” Alisa continued, her voice tight, “in the state of Texas, it is possible for the deceased to add a stipulation to the will that requires heirs to survive him by a certain amount of time in order to inherit.”
I’d read the will multiple times. “Pretty sure I’d remember if there was something in there about how long I had to avoiddyingto inherit. The only stipulation—”
“Was that you must live in Hawthorne House for one year,” Alisa finished. “Which, I will admit, would be quite the difficult stipulation to fulfill if you were dead.”
That was her oversight? The fact that I couldn’tlivein Hawthorne House if I wasn’t alive?
“So if I die…” I swallowed, wetting my tongue. “The money goes to charity?”
“Possibly. But it’s also possible thatyourheirs could challenge that interpretation on the basis of Mr. Hawthorne’s intent.”
“I don’t have heirs,” I said. “I don’t even have a will.”
“You don’t need a will to have heirs.” Alisa glanced at Oren. “Has her sister been cleared?”
“Libby?”I was incredulous. Had theymetmy sister?
“The sister’s clear,” Oren told Alisa. “She was with Nash during the shooting.”
He might as well have detonated a bomb for how wellthatwent over.
Eventually, Alisa gathered her composure and turned back to me. “You won’t legally be able to sign a will until you turn eighteen. Ditto for the paperwork regarding the foundation conservatorship. Andthatis the other oversight here. Originally, I was focused only on the will, but if you are unable or unwilling to fulfill your role as conservator, the conservatorship passes.” She paused heavily. “To the boys.”
If I died, the foundation—all the money, all the power, all that potential—went to Tobias Hawthorne’s grandsons. A hundred million dollars a year to give away. You could buy a lot of favors for money like that.
“Who knows about the terms of the foundation’s conservatorship?” Oren asked, deadly serious.
“Zara and Constantine, certainly,” Alisa said immediately.
“Grayson,” I added hoarsely, my wounds throbbing. I knew him well enough to know that he would have demanded to see the conservatorship papers himself.He wouldn’t hurt me.I wanted to believe that.All he does is warn me away.
“How soon can you have documents drawn up leaving control of the foundation to Avery’s sister in the event of her death?” Oren demanded. If this was about control of the foundation, that would protect me—or else it would put Libby in danger, too.
“Is anyone going to ask me what I want to do?” I asked.
“I can have the documents drawn up tomorrow,” Alisa told Oren, ignoring me. “But Avery can’t legally sign them until she’s eighteen, and even then, it’s unclear if she’s authorized to make that kind of decision prior to assuming full control of the foundation at the age of twenty-one. Until then…”
I had a target on my forehead.
“What would it take to evoke the protection clause in the will?” Oren changed tactics. “Therearecircumstances under which Avery could remove the Hawthornes as tenants, correct?”
“We’d need evidence,” Alisa replied. “Something that ties a specific individual or individuals to acts of harassment, intimidation, or violence, and even then, Avery can only kick out the perpetrator—not the whole family.”
