"Raya, wait," I say, jumping up and slinging Courtney's hand off me.
She turns with tears in her eyes. "I—"
Loud yelling interrupts what she was going to say, and I step by her, making sure to get as close as possible, and I let my hand run down her arm, hoping that's enough to keep her here until I figure out what's going on.
"You can't be serious," Dad yells, pointing his finger accusingly in the face of Leonard Mars.
What the hell is going on? And who is the woman with dark blond hair that is beside him? She looks older, holding an air of refined elegance, but I have no idea what she's doing here. Now's not the time for drama. What's Leonard up to?
I make my way toward him as I hear the most preposterous allegation ever.
"He's married, Paul. Henrietta is Thomas's wife, and she has control of the vineyard right now. I'm sorry, Paul. I really am," Leonard says, seeming exhausted.
Married? Control of the vineyard? What the hell?!
Dad lets a string of curses fly, and my jaw ticks as my teeth grind together. This is crazy. I was already close to losing it. The calm that Raya gave me has vanished.
"He'd never do that!" I snap, pointing back toward my granddad's room. "My grandfather only ever loved one woman. He hasn't even dated anyone since my grandmother died, let alone got married. This is bullshit."
They can't convince me that he suddenly changed his mind about dating after all these years. He swore he could only ever love one woman the way he did my grandmother, and that it wouldn't be fair to any woman who came after her. Now they're claiming he's married?
The woman doesn't even flinch. Her supposed husband is lying in a hospital bed and this is the first time she's shown up? Not likely.
"It's true, Kade," Leonard says, sounding exasperated. "I was there six months ago when they went to the courthouse. So was Harry. We both served as witnesses. Thomas didn't want you to know. I'm sorry. And he had me nullify his will, which now leaves everything to Henrietta. I know this is hard, but it's true.
"With him in an induced coma, he's unable to handle his estate. Essentially, since she's deeded everything, she has almost the same rights as someone with power of attorney. The vineyard is hers, the winery is hers, and the farm is hers."
This is all crazy. Power of attorney? The vineyard is hers? It's not possible.
"That's bullshit, because my father just had his will redone not long ago. My lawyers handled it because I felt it was too important to leave in your hands," Dad barks. "Kade is the only one who is supposed to get anything. She has no rights, and she'd better stay the hell off my father's property."
He had his will redone just for me?
"Do you have the will?" Leonard asks, seeming a little pale.
"No. My father kept it, but I'm sure my lawyers can send you a copy real damn soon," Dad growls, before walking away.
I follow, desperate to get some answers. At least this part of the problem is solved. But is Granddad really married? How could he do this without telling me?
"This is Paul Colton, and I need a copy of my father's will sent to my email now... Yes ... I don't give a damn how busy you are ... Fine. Two hours. That's all you have."
He hangs up as Henrietta and Leonard make an exit, and I watch her dab tears away. Shit. She's crying? Is this real?
I look around, needing to find Raya as Dad makes a few other phone calls. But she's gone. My heart sinks to the ground as I stare around me at the vacancy. I shouldn't expect her to be here when I need her, but I thought... Well, it doesn't matter. I don't deserve her to give a damn right now.
Besides, now we have more drama to deal with than I thought possible. I don't know how many more blows I can handle. Thank God there's a will keeping her away from that vineyard.
Chapter Fifteen
"The fucking servers crashed, and now they can't retrieve the will," Dad growls, muttering a few curses afterwards.
"What?" I ask, my thoughts all over the place.
"The servers crashed," he repeats. "They've lost the will, and the physical copies are missing as well. How the hell is this possible?"
I might as well lie down and let an army stomp on me. My life just keeps getting crushed. I've abstained from calling Raya, but I'm getting weaker. She's the only person who would understand right now.
Since we left the hospital, Dad has been working nonstop on this, but nothing can legally be done without that will. Fuck my life.