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“Eh, you’re strong. You can take her.” She gave me a reassuring pat on my shoulder and gestured towards the door on the opposite end of the room. I took a step closer to it and right on cue something glass shattered inside the office.
“Read the will!” Ronnie cried, her voice echoing out into the lobby.
I rolled my eyes and let myself inside. Ronnie was standing at the center of the bookshelf along the wall holding a vase above her head, and Gregor sat at his desk, seemingly unimpressed by my mother’s antics.
“Ah, I see things are going as expected,” I said.
Ronnie whirled around and chucked her vase directly at my head. My wolf reacted on instinct, and I caught it one handed, lifting my other to take a sip of my coffee.
“You are an hour late,” Ronnie hissed.
“Hi, Mom.” I smiled. “It’s nice to see you too.”
“Please come in Miss Corwin. We’ve got a lot to discuss,” Gregor said, shifting some paperwork around.
“Sorry, I’m late.”
He grunted. “It’s not a problem. Sasha reminded me about your party last night. She said you were quite inebriated.”
Ronnie looked back and forth between us as I skirted around her and sank into one of the chairs opposite the desk. I could feel her anger drifting from her pores. I just didn’t have the brain space to care.
“So,” I said, turning to Gregor. “What’s the will say?”
He lifted an eyebrow and looked up at me. “Are you sure you’re ready for me to go through it all? Do you need some tissues, or a water?”
“I’m good,” I said, brandishing my coffee. “Your daughter saved me with some caffeine.”
“Ah, she is good at what she does.” He chuckled.
“Are you two really gonna pretend I’m not even here?” Ronnie growled.
Gregor looked up at her. “You were not called to this meeting, Veronica. You insisted on being present, and I have only allowed it because your husband is my Alpha.”
“She’s not mentioned in the will?” I asked.
“No. She’s not. You are the only individual named. The other parties are all charities,” he said.
Ronnie growled again and sank into the seat beside me. Her eyes burned with rage. I knew the look well. Many people would see it as murderous, but for me, it was just Mom.
“Alright,” I said. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Indeed.” Gregor flipped a set of pages in front of him and sighed. “I’ll spare you both the legal jargon. Annie didn’t have much money to leave behind, but she created a trust for you when you were ten. It’s yours when you want it. I’ll leave you to go over the totals when you’re alone.” He slid an envelope to the side, and double tapped it. “She left you her house, her truck, and the contents there in.”
“Enough of this,” Ronnie said, leaning forward on her knees. “What about her shares of The Neon. Who gets them?”
I looked at Gregor wide eyed. “Annie had shares in The Neon?”
“I couldn’t cover the bills one month, and she made me sign over fifty one percent of the bar before she’d help,” Ronnie explained, glaring at Gregor.
“She’s signed over her shares in The Neon to Eve. As you probably should’ve expected,” Gregor said.
Ronnie’s head dropped. Her fingers tore into the legs of her jeans. A deep growl rumbled in her throat. “No. I’m not going to let her do this. Not from the goddamn grave. She can’t take this from me too. I won’t let it happen.”
“It’s already happened. She filled out the paperwork when she filed her will. It was notarized, and I’ve already conferred partial ownership over to Eve as Annie requested. All that remains is that she signs and verify the transfer.”
“I…I…” I gaped at him dumbfounded. I’d left town with Annie and Zach as my only roots in the world. My father was gone, Ronnie hated me. They were the only things tying me to anything, but now if I signed the paperwork…I’d have bills. A home. Roots.
Every muscle in my body tensed. Fight or flight. Fight or flight. My instincts were torn between staying and going. Adrian’s order to stay rang through my head, but there were other things too. Maria…and if I was being honest…Jamie.
