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“I’m Alexa Owens, Raquel’s sister. I want to see her and my mother for a minute. It’s urgent. Please let them know I’m not leaving until they see me. And they’re going to want to see me. If not, I’ll go to the Twiner sisters.”
And I would. The woman looked surprised. “Just a moment, ma’am.”
The door closed, and we waited. Within a minute, the door flung open. “What are you doing here?” Raquel screeched, crossing her arms over her beaded dress. A bit over the top for casual dining, I’d say.
If only I could wipe that arrogant look off her face. It always drove me mad. Did she know? I softened somewhat. What if she doesn’t know?
But then Raquel snarled at me, “Are you deaf? What do you want?”
And I’m done with this. “I need to talk to you and Mom.”
She crossed her arms again. “What about?”
Turning, I looked at Drake. “This is a waste of time. Take me to Elvira and Sylvia’s. They’ll be interested in what I have to say.”
We turned and took a few steps to the car before Raquel said, “Fine, come in. But take off your shoes. I don’t want you dirtying my floors.”
We followed Raquel, leaving on our shoes. Normally, yes, I would’ve taken them off, but treating us like we were barnyard animals was unacceptable. And quite frankly, I couldn’t give two flying fucks about her—or her fancy floors—right now.
Chazz sat on the sofa, sipping a drink. “Alexa, Drake, what brings you to our home this evening?”
He wore one of those red silk dressing robes you see in movies paired with black pants. Honestly, he looked ridiculous. This whole scene, including Mom in her ball gown, sipping wine while the fire crackled, seemed fabricated.
Chazz motioned to us. “Would you like to take a seat? I’ve been meaning to ask Raquel to have you over. It’s a shame the first time we met was at the Fall Festival.”
“Thanks, but I’ll stand. We won’t be long.” I turned to Raquel, who looked like she was going to blow a gasket. Plus, her fancy hairdo made her look like she had two dark horns sprouting from her head. “Why’d you sell Dad’s land to Milano Incorporated?”
She rolled her eyes. “Because I wanted to.”
I took a deep breath. “How much did you get for it?”
“Enough to say yes.”
Bitch. I wanted to smack her right upside the head. “Dad wouldn’t have wanted you to sell the land. It was supposed to go to his grandkids.”
Raquel rolled her eyes again. I was about two seconds away from decking her. Drake put his hand on my waist, and I unclenched my fists. The movement helped center me. “Do you know who Milano Incorporated is?”
“No, they offered me through the bank.”
Chazz leaned forward, and for the first time, I saw some sort of human quality in him. “Is something the matter, Alexa?”
“No, nothing is the matter. I just wish someone would’ve told me.”
During this exchange, my mother didn’t say a word. “Mom, I’ve been trying to call you.”
“Sorry, darling, I’ve been busy.” She patted her hair into place. I swore, she and Raquel were two peas in a pod, and I was glad I looked more like my dad.
Tired of the charade, I took the photocopies from my jacket. Mom and Raquel obviously weren’t going to give me any additional information. Now I needed to know if—or how much—they knew. “So… I got Dad’s work stuff from Jim.”
Raquel and Mom looked at each other. Their eyes widened for only a second, but then their expressions shut down again. Mom sighed. “He didn’t have any work stuff.”
I held up a finger and took a step forward. “Oh, but he did. Jim said he contacted you several times to pick it up, but you couldn’t be bothered.”
Again, they shared another look. Okay. It was time for the grand finale. “Anyway, I found something interesting in there. Paternity tests.”
Mom’s face contorted with rage. “Alexa, I’m warning you.”
“Warning me? About what? What I found? That I’ll tell the town what you did?”
