In the distance, sirens start to blare, and the sound increases until there are bright lights shining into the tiny window of the attic.
“Finally,” she sighs, and then she descends the stairs, huffing all the way down.
“Ready?” Dallas asks, as he squeezes my hand again, and I nod.
We step down the stairs, Vienna already several steps ahead.
There’s a loud knock on the door, and Vienna swings the door open as we’re on the spiral staircase.
“Finally! Officers, I have two intruders,” she bellows, and points directly at me. “She’s not welcome here.”
Two male officers are standing in their full dark blue uniforms with neutral expressions.
“Ma’am, can we please come in?”
“Ma’am? Who are you calling ma’am? I’m notthatold.” She presses her hand over her heart, but adds a wink to one of the cops before ushering them in.
They step farther into my dad’s house when Vienna starts to rant about me invading her space.
“Okay.” The shorter of the two states after a solid minute. “Miss, can you please tell us why you are here?”
“I’ll tell you why she’s here—”
The taller officer holds up his hand. “It’s her turn.”
All eyes turn to me. Dallas’ eyes are kind and gentle, but Vienna’s are the polar opposite.
“Um.” I cough into my sleeve. “Well, this is my home.”
“This—” Vienna starts, but the hand goes up again.
“Let her talk. We are going to remove you if you refuse to cooperate.”
All eyes return to me again. My throat feels tight and scratchy, and my head starts to feel dizzy. A warm hand loops through mine and stays there.
I exhale. “My parents bought this place when my mom was pregnant with me. This is my childhood home,” I state.
Dallas slides me the tainted yellow piece of paper as I take a deep breath.
“And he left this to me.” I hand the paper over to the officer closest to me. “I just didn’t know it until today.”
He opens the paper and his eyes scroll through the text.
“Let me see that!” Vienna comes from behind and snipes the will from the officer and runs out the door. She rips the paper as she runs down the stairs, but as soon as she touches the grass, the tall other officer grabs her from behind, holding her two hands together.
“Shit,” I whisper to myself, mostly as I take in the scene. I’m glad they got her, but can that paper be taped together?
Dallas leans into my ear and says, “Don’t worry, I took a picture of it and sent it to my dad as well for backup. He’s a lawyer.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal, but it is to me.
“Wow, you are amazing,” I say, looking into his eyes.
He returns the gesture. “No, you are. Truly.”
Epilogue
Ella
It turns out, that was, in fact, my dad’s will. He left everything he owned to me. The house, his cars, the ice rink. Everything.
