Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Vivi pulled open the door of the small law office and paused in the vestibule. An older woman smiled at her from behind the glass partition of the small law office, and she slid one side open to pass Vivi a clipboard. “Sign in here, please.”
Vivi scribbled her name on the line, then returned it to her.
“Mr. Grant should be out in just a moment.” She closed the window, and Vivi took a seat in one of the vinyl chairs lining the wall.
True to her word, the heavy oak door to Vivi's left swung inward a moment later, revealing Harrison Grant. “Virginia.” A warm smile wreathed his face as he greeted her. “So good to see you.”
“Hey.” Vivi stood and moved toward him. “How are you?”
“I’m wonderful, thank you.” He smiled and gestured toward the hallway. “Come on back.”
Though Harrison was somewhere in his mid-sixties, he was handsome and fit.
His hair had grayed, but it gave him a distinguished look, and just seeing him again set Vivi at ease.
Harrison was Ellen’s lawyer, but he’d also been a close friend to her over the years.
Vivi had always kind of wondered why they never dated, but she assumed Ellen hadn’t been able to move on after her husband passed away.
It wasn’t her place to ask, and Ellen wasn’t one to speak of romantic matters.
“So tell me, how have things been?”
“Stressful,” Vivi admitted.
“I heard about the fire.” He threw a sympathetic look her way as he paused next to a doorway. “I’m sorry about that, Virginia.”
Outside of Ellen, Harrison was the only other person who called her by her full name.
Why then had she told the man from the hotel?
Her cheeks heated at the memory of that past weekend.
Though she’d told him her name, he’d never offered his.
She guessed it was better that way. He was probably passing through, and she’d practically told him the same.
Even if he were from around here, what were the odds of them ever seeing each other again?
Pretty slim, considering she knew nothing about him.
She didn’t know what he did for a living or where he lived.
A tiny pang ricocheted through her heart.
It didn’t matter anyway. It was over, and he was gone for good.
No matter how much she wished otherwise.
He steered her into a large conference room on the left, and she forced herself to focus on the here and now. “Have a seat anywhere you like. Elijah should be here in just a moment.”
“Oh.” Vivi tucked her purse on the ground at her feet and turned to look at Harrison. “I had no idea he was coming today.”
Harrison pulled a soft cloth from his breast pocket, then slipped off his glasses, polishing them as he spoke. “Ellen wanted me to cover a few things, and it was easier to have both of you come in.”
Vivi bit her lip. “Do you think I did the right thing? Letting her go to the assisted living center?”
Harrison replaced his glasses on the bridge of his nose and sent a soft smile her way.
“It was what she wanted. That’s actually part of what I planned to cover today.
She knew her health would eventually fail, and she wanted to plan for every contingency.
Unfortunately, it happened much sooner than any of us expected. ”
The knowledge mollified Vivi only the tiniest bit.
Knowing that Ellen had made the decision while still lucid lifted some of the weight of guilt off her conscience, but that tiny niggle in the center of her chest was still there—the one that said she should have tried harder to get Ellen to stay at home.
It was where she was most comfortable. She’d spent nearly forty years of her life there; now she was being uprooted, waking every day in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by unfamiliar people.
She knew they would take good care of her, and there was money to cover the cost of the care.
But that wasn’t what bothered her. She felt like she was somehow letting Ellen down.
Vivi had moved back from college to be with her so she would have someone there if she needed anything.
At the time, of course, she hadn’t been aware that things had gotten as bad as they had.
The phone in the conference room rang, and Harrison lifted the receiver to his ear. “Yes?” There was a pause, then—“Send him back.”
A minute later, Ellen’s son, Elijah, walked into the room. His eyes widened a bit when he saw Vivi sitting at the table. “Vivi.”
“Hey.” Vivi rose from her seat and offered a hug. Almost two decades older than her, Elijah had been out of the house long before she moved in with Ellen. She didn’t know him well, but he’d always been nice enough to her when their paths had crossed.
Elijah released her, and they resumed their seats at the table. He greeted Harrison, then turned to Vivi. “I thought you were up north for school.”
“I was. But with Ellen…” Vivi trailed off, letting her words disappear. They all knew about the elephant in the room.
“Well,” Harrison spoke up, saving her, “thank you both for coming today. Has Ellen ever discussed her affairs with you?”
Vivi shook her head and threw a look at Elijah, who did the same. “She told me she updated her will about a year back, but it never came up again and I never pressed.”
Heat stained Vivi’s cheeks. She was glad someone had the foresight to discuss it with Ellen.
Although she’d lived with her for nearly ten years, she never really felt like it was her place to bring it up.
Not only that, but she had no desire to.
She’d lost both of her parents before she turned ten; the thought of discussing Ellen’s death was too morbid for her to even contemplate.
She’d put it off, not wanting to acknowledge that Ellen was getting older. Sitting there now, mortality pressed in on her, turning her breakfast to lead in her stomach.
As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, Harrison sent a kind smile her way. “I have something here that she would like you both to see.”
Harrison turned to the computer in front of him, and Vivi clenched her hands together in her lap as the tapping of keys filled the air.
Finally, Harrison turned the screen toward them.
Sitting at a conference table—probably the one they were seated at this very moment—Ellen sat across from Harrison.
A counter in the lower right-hand corner showed the date to be just over a year ago.
On screen, Harrison smiled at Ellen. “Hello, Ellen. We’re here today to discuss your estate, is that correct?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “I want to make sure all of my affairs are in order and there’s no question as to how to proceed once I’m gone.”
Vivi swallowed hard against the sting of tears in her eyes at her words.
Why hadn’t Ellen said anything sooner? Had Vivi known about her dementia, she could have…
What? Would anything be different? Her doctor was treating it, but she still had good days and bad.
Ellen had obviously considered this from all angles before updating her will and putting everything into motion.
Aside from Knox, Ellen was the only family Vivi had left.
She didn’t want to lose her, too, but she knew it was inevitable.
Ellen’s body was still strong, but her mind was trapped between past and present, and she needed help that Vivi couldn’t give her.
She knew Ellen was friendly with the other residents, but she vowed to stop in as often as she could.
Vivi watched as Harrison asked Ellen a series of questions—the date, the name of the current president, her birthdate. She answered all of the questions succinctly, and Harrison nodded as if to prove that she was, in fact, in full control of her faculties.
Vivi listened as Ellen named her power of attorney, which wasn’t a surprise. The issue had arisen last week when Ellen decided to move into the assisted living facility. What Vivi wasn’t prepared for, however, was what Ellen said next. “The house I leave to my ward, Virginia Castillo.”
Vivi sat there in shock as silence briefly descended over the room. She felt Elijah jerk beside her in his chair, but she couldn’t turn to look at him.
“Rewind that,” he demanded.
Harrison did as Elijah asked, and Vivi watched in stunned silence as Ellen repeated her edict. For some reason, she never imagined inheriting the house. As Ellen’s only living biological child, not to mention the oldest of them, Vivi thought for sure she would have left it to him.
She turned to Elijah with wide eyes. “I…” What could she say? I’m sorry? I had no idea?
He met her gaze, his own eyes furious and flashing with fire as he slammed his hands down on the arms of the chair. “What is that?”
Harrison lifted his chin a bit. “Elijah, your mother—”
“This is a joke.” He pointed at the screen. “What is this? She can’t leave the house to Vivi!”
Vivi sat back in her chair, affronted. She understood his anger, but she couldn’t say she wasn’t a little hurt that he considered her so far beneath him. “Elijah—”
“No.” Elijah practically vibrated with fury as he rose from his seat. “I won’t let this happen.”
“This is what Ellen wants,” Harrison replied in his soft but firm tone. “These are her last wishes.”
“This is insane,” Elijah snapped back. “She’s out of her mind!”
His words had Vivi’s hackles rising and anger snaking through her veins. “She’s not crazy.”
For the first time since his outburst, Elijah whirled toward Vivi. “You did this, didn’t you? You came back, and—”
“First of all,” Vivi shot back, “this happened well before I moved back. And at least I take care of her. You came all the way into town for this meeting, but I’ll bet you haven’t even gone to see her. Have you?”
His jaw dropped open a fraction. “Not yet,” he sputtered. “But—”
“But what?” Vivi’s eyes narrowed on him as she rose to face him head on. “She wouldn’t know the difference?”
“I—”
“When was the last time you made time to talk with her? Huh?” She poked him in the chest. “I was the one who moved all the way down here because she knew she couldn’t count on you.”
Harrison tried to intervene. “All right, let’s just calm down and—”
Elijah’s face flared bright red as he glared at Vivi. “I won’t let this happen.” He turned to Harrison. “You can expect a call next week.”
With that, he stormed out of the room, leaving Harrison and Vivi in stunned, awkward silence. Guilt rose up, along with regret. He was upset, and she never should have said the things she did, even if they were true. He was just lashing out, and she happened to be the closest target.
Vivi finally tore her gaze from the empty doorway and swallowed hard. “He’s right, I—”
Harrison shook his head as he closed the lid of the laptop. “Ellen had very specific reasons for doing this. Elijah has his own life, his own family.” He offered a little smile. “Ellen loves you very much, and she wants you to be taken care of.”
Vivi knew Ellen did, and she appreciated it, but it filled her with guilt at the same time. Ellen had given Knox money to start Vantage. This was her way of taking care of Vivi. She blew out a breath. “Thank you for letting me know.”
The house wasn’t technically Vivi’s yet, not until Ellen passed. But one thing was absolutely certain—she couldn’t leave now.