60. Chapter Sixty
Chapter sixty
Adair
Lynette came to see me in my room later on that day to tell me about a meeting with the family attorney I needed to attend.
“Now?”
She nodded and gave me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry for the lack of notice, but there are things that need to be taken care of as soon as possible. This cannot wait.”
I glanced over at Peter, who looked as alarmed as I felt. “Okay. Can I at least put on something a little more professional looking? I feel like a slob right now.”
“Of course. We’re in the conference room when you’re ready.”
After quickly changing into jeans and a nicer shirt, I let out a deep breath and looked at Peter. “Well, let’s go see what this is all about.”
As I headed out the door and down the hall, he was right behind me. “I don’t want to be rude, but do you know where you’re going?”
A breathy laugh came out as I nodded. “I spent quite a bit of time in that room in the months leading up to my disappearance. Trust when I say I know where it is.”
When we walked into the conference room, there were four people waiting for us.
Lynette was talking to a man I immediately recognized as Mr. Greene, the family attorney I’d spent quite a bit of time with earlier in my life, and was intrigued how this conversation was going to go.
Next to them was Ben, who was laughing with a younger looking man I didn’t recognize.
“Ben, you’re in on this, too?”
He looked up and smiled at me. “No, I wanted to see my amazing little brother.”
My eyes went wide. “Your brother is a lawyer?”
Pride shone in Ben’s eyes. “Yeah, he is.”
The man shook his head, but there was a smile on his face that matched his brother’s. “Not yet. I still have to pass the bar exam in a couple weeks. Then I’ll be a lawyer.”
Ben glanced my way and shrugged. “Close enough for me.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Lynette cleared her throat. “Adair, do you remember Mr. Greene?”
“I do.” My heart raced as I nodded and looked at him. “It’s nice to see you again.”
He arched his eyebrow. “I appreciate how time has made you think more kindly of me.”
I nodded. The last time he and I had been in the same room, there had been quite a heated conversation. “You were just doing your job.”
Mr. Greene gave me a friendly smile. “And I am here to do that today as well. I see you’ve met my clerk, Aaron Mason De la Renta. We are ready to start when you are.”
Feeling less brave than I had when walking in, I reached behind me and grabbed for Peter’s hand, which immediately slid into mine. “I’m not entirely sure what we are here to take care of today.”
Ben cleared his throat. “I’ll see myself out. Aaron, come find me before you head out, okay?”
“Of course.”
After Ben left the room, Mr. Greene looked at Peter. “I know you’re here for moral support, but for legal reasons, I’m going to have to ask you to step out.”
He looked at me, and I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine with Lynette.”
“Okay. I’ll see you after.”
When the door shut behind him, Lynette gestured to the chairs. “Let’s all sit before diving in.”
Over the next several minutes, Mr. Greene explained that we had to prove I was alive and well, since no one had heard from me, seen me in almost seven years, or could prove I had died.
“What’s the big deal with seven years?”
“At seven years and one day missing, you can legally be considered dead if there is no body or remains found, and then Susan can file the paperwork and gain access to all the accounts and properties that were left for you in your father’s trust. While there was a public account of a funeral, there was no official death certificate. ”
My mouth fell open in shock. “He left things to me? I thought my dad changed everything.”
Lynette shook her head. “There was talk, but sources told me that he’d been advised to hold off on changing anything in his will and trust. That it would have looked highly suspicious if he signed everything over to Susan before your body was found or you were confirmed dead.”
“He didn’t want to get caught up in Susan’s bullshit.” I stared at the wall for a moment, letting my thoughts run wild. “I’m still not convinced he didn’t have something to do with my attack.”
Lynette let out a deep sigh. “While my son-in-law is convinced I know everything, I don’t. But right now, I wish he was right. I wish I could hand you that answer.”
I leaned back, crossing my arms over my chest. “It’s not like it changes anything. The two snakes got what they wanted in the end.”
“But they didn’t.”
Mr. Greene’s words startled me, and I looked over. “No?”
He shook his head. “No. Liam and Susan were and still are extremely power hungry. Liam thought he was on the fast track to becoming Don. He had plans for expansion and domination. Note who’s sitting in that office right now.”
A smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth. “Not them.”
The family lawyer nodded. “Exactly.”
I let out a sigh. “So, where do we start? I’m assuming me sitting here with you isn’t enough?”
Aaron gestured to the stack of papers on the table. “There are a few things to fill out.”
It took some time, but eventually I signed everything proving I was alive and had the documents notarized. I couldn’t help but chuckle when I was handed a Certificate of Existence. “This has got to be the most redundant piece of paper ever, but if it’s what we need, I’m here for it.”
Mr. Greene smiled in agreement. “The court can’t deny your existence with this piece of paper.
If your sister tries to pull a fast one and declare you dead, this is what will stop her.
” He reached to the stack of papers Aaron had pulled out of his briefcase.
“Now, onto the reading of your late parents’ estate. ”
As I expected, Susan had received her condo, some stocks and bonds, and a sizable inheritance.
My jaw hit the floor when I saw the pages of what I’d inherited.
There was everything from several offshore accounts to a mansion on a tropical island, a villa in Italy, and a Maldives resort, not to mention a long list of local businesses.
I was surprised to see Dad gave me the lake house up north.
Susan had loved it up there. When I turned the page, I froze.
Everything that had been in Mom’s name was also being transferred to me.
“Holy shit.” I scanned the rest of the list. I knew my family had money, but this was wild.
So much of it was tied up in sub-corporations, but ultimately, they belonged to us.
My sister had been given maybe thirty percent of the assets.
“Susan had to have known about this. Why else would she have been so pissed about me being the oldest? Add in that I was going to marry the man she wanted because of some stupid contract? Damn. The greed ran deep.”
“This explains her actions so much more.”
I nodded at Lynette’s comment. “It does. It’s going to piss her off when she finds out I’ve ‘stolen’ them from her.”
Aaron cleared his throat. “With all due respect, ma’am, they have always been yours and have never been hers. You’ve stolen nothing.”
I smiled at his youth and innocence. “Legally, I suppose you’re right.”
Once we finalized all the transfer documents, Mr. Greene looked at Aaron, who proceeded to pull out three thick folders out of his bag.
Lynette met my gaze and smirked. “Take a deep breath, honey.”
“When Kobe Vaux passed, there were—”
Time stilled for a moment. “Uncle Kobe is dead?” My attention went to Lynette, who nodded.
“Kobe Vaux attacked Don Dallas’s compound not too long ago. There were severe consequences for his actions.”
I blinked. Uncle Kobe and Emmett Dallas had been so close. Things were a bit estranged after Aunt Melanie died, but I was shocked to hear it had escalated to that level.
“Vaux’s men took Barbara Dallas and Wesley Backnoff during the raid. Dallas and a few others stormed the Vaux compound and… well, no one on Vaux’s side was left.”
I blinked a couple times, trying to wrap my head around it all. I recalled what all Maloy had said on the plane, and it all clicked into place. “Alright. I… Okay then.” I cleared my throat and looked at Mr. Greene. “You were saying?”
“When he passed, there were special provisions in his trust for you and Susan. Susan received her portion. However, I contacted the Trustee and started the process on your transfers. I need your signature on some things so they can be transferred to you.”
He handed me a list of assets, and I think I stopped breathing as I read through the three pages itemizing more offshore bank accounts, a couple of the domestic ones I knew existed, a villa in the Bahamas, an estate in Spain, a flat in New York, a home in Malibu, and…
No way. I looked up and looked at Aaron and Mr. Greene. “I get the Vaux compound?”
He nodded. “While there isn’t anything there now, the Trustee did have it cleaned up after the…
” He paused for a moment before continuing, “unfortunate gas leak that caused the explosion that took out the house. Susan got the car collection, the Versailles estate, and the local restaurants, but you are now the owner of all the nightclubs, the security company, and restaurants in New York and Miami.”
Lifting my eyebrows, I was stunned. “Did they really leave all this for me? I thought there would have been a more even split between me and Susan.”
“Yes, ma’am. However, you should know that most of the liquid assets have been seized by Don Dallas. He has also taken over the territory as his own, and now that you have been proven to be alive and well, I strongly suggest we set up an appointment with him for you to discuss how to proceed.”
Nodding and flipping through to the last page of the list, the businesses he’d mentioned were listed there. I sank back in my chair, stunned. “What am I going to do with all of this? Between my dad’s estate and Uncle Kobe... Holy shit. Well, if I live through this, I guess I have something to do.”
It was another forty minutes of executing documents before we were finally done.
“Thank you, Ms. Vaux. It was a pleasure to meet and work with you,” Aaron said before standing and turning to Lynette. “I’m assuming I’ll find Ben in the kitchen?”
“Likely.”
Mr. Greene stood as Aaron left the room and reached out to shake my hand. “This time, it truly was a pleasure doing business with you.”
Letting a smile cross my face, I asked, “After things calm down a bit around here, I’d like to talk about setting a trust up for all this. Possibly having my name legally changed.”
“Of course, Ms. Vaux. Take some time to look over your new estate. I’ll have Aaron send over a questionnaire so we can start drafting whatever documents you need. Please don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions.” He shook hands with all of us again before leaving.
I collapsed into the chair again and rolled my head to the side to look at Lynette.
“Holy shit. I knew Uncle Kobe was loaded, but…
damn. And I knew I was going to inherit a lot from Dad, so that one didn't surprise me much, but again, damn.” I let out a tense breath.
“Do you think Lukas or Ryan would want to take over the security company? I also know nothing about restaurants—”
“Adair, take a deep breath. You don’t have to figure out any of this today. There is time to work this all out. I’m going to walk Mr. Greene out and be right back. Just stay here and breathe, okay?”
I nodded. My mind was spinning, but one thing I knew for sure was that I was going to give some of this to Lianne, Lukas, Edith, and Peter.
Peter.
I could never repay him for everything he had done. Sure, he was doing his job, but as I stared at the ceiling, I wondered if there truly was more going on.
I miss you, Derek. Did you send Peter? I don’t want to betray you or what we had.
I shook my head as I, once again, heard his voice in my mind.
Yes, I know. You want me to thrive.
I let out a big huff as I looked at the pages of assets Uncle Kobe had left me.
He left me a far larger monetary sum than Susan.
But why? She had always been his favorite.
What happened that she didn’t receive most of his estate and I did?
Not to mention I was stunned by the news Don Dallas had taken out Uncle Kobe and his operation.
Why did I get everything? Did Uncle Kobe know about what Susan did to me?
Am I the new Don of his kingdom?
I shook my head as I reminded myself what Lynette had said — this was not something I had to figure out today.
A couple minutes later, Lynette came back into the room. “There’s something I’d like to show you if you have time.”
I snickered. “What else would I be doing?”
She smiled at me. “I never want to assume your schedule, my dear.”