UP IN FLAMES

Since she and Christopher hadn’t gotten around to drawing up a prenup, the law was clear on the rights of inheritance. A will could only confirm that and perhaps designate heirship of smaller, sentimental items. Was there something specific Lois wanted? If so, all she needed to do was ask.

Pushing down the bewildered hurt, Vanessa reminded herself she’d never truly understood Christopher’s parents. Christopher had often commented that they cared more about their church family than their real one.

After getting Chloe a cup of coffee and a doughnut, Vanessa asked her if she’d mind coming with her to the study. “I hope y’all will excuse us for a few moments,” she said to the rest of the room. “I’ve got some things I’d like to discuss with Chloe.”

“I’d prefer to be there,” Lois announced.

Vanessa stared at her. She’d thought Christopher’s mother couldn’t shock her any more than she already had. Turned out she’d been wrong.

“I’m sorry,” Vanessa told her firmly. “But this is private. I’m sure you and Steven can enjoy the rest of your breakfast while I take care of this.”

With that, she swept from the room, Chloe trailing behind her.

———-

In the study, As Vanessa outlined tasks to the other woman, Chloe pulled out an iPad and took notes.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Chloe, I’m going to need your help getting everything set up with the funeral home. I already did some of the initial work, but there are still a lot of decisions that need to be made.”

“I’m ready to help in any way I can,” Chloe said, nodding.

Once Vanessa had outlined everything she needed, Chloe shut down her iPad and stowed it in her purse. “Thank you for such detailed instructions,” she said, smiling. “That makes it a lot easier. I’ll get right on this. In fact, I’ll stop by the funeral home after I leave here.”

“Perfect.” Vanessa stood, smiling. “Oh, and one more favor. Please don’t mention any of this to Lois or Steven.

I’d prefer just to let them know everything once all the arrangements have been finalized.”

Though Chloe eyed her curiously, she nodded. “Consider it done.”

Though she felt like a cynic, Vanessa couldn’t help but think she’d realized who’d be signing her paychecks from now on. It certainly wouldn’t be Christopher’s parents.

“I’ll touch base with you later today,” Chloe promised, striding confidently toward the exit. “Let me tell the Wesleys goodbye.”

Once she’d gone, Vanessa let out a huge sigh and began massaging both her temples. “This is a nightmare.” She mumbled to herself. Finally, she pushed herself up from behind the desk. Her head was starting to ache so she decided to try and bypass the Wesleys for a while. She headed out to the living room, where Lois and Steven were seated waiting for her. They informed her that would be leaving to stay with a close friend of theirs who lived in the city.

Although Vanessa knew that it would make more sense for them to stay with her, she knew that it was best so they’d avoid getting on each other’s nerves as they didn’t really get along.

“That’s alright,” Vanessa told them. “Just let me know if you need anything and I’ll keep in touch too,”

After they left, Anita followed an hour later as she had some work to attend to while Vanessa took the opportunity to get some sleep. She woke up later that evening and decided to go for a small walk. When she opened her front door, there was a tiny package waiting for her.

That was weird, she thought. She’d not ordered anything and wasn’t expecting anything either. At first she was afraid to pick it up, but after giving it a kick with her foot and realizing that it was very light, she picked it up. Besides, if it really was a bomb as she feared, it’d have exploded already. She took it inside and sat in the living room to open it up.

Smoothing the stray hairs at her temples, she cursed. Her hands were shaking as she opened it to find a letter… Well not really a letter because it just had one sentence. “Obviously someone is a dumbass,” she muttered, willing her hand to stop trembling.

‘I’ll be seeing you soon’ it said.

Her breath caught and pressure seized her chest. It didn’t matter how many times she’d read the line. Each time her eyes crawled across those five words, she felt the burn in her throat, the building in the back of her mouth. She wanted to scream, and she never screamed.

Placing the letter beside the flower vase on the table, she then stood on weak legs. Her fingers icy and numb, she walked across the living room to the window. Could he be out there right this second, watching her?

No.

She stopped herself from backing away from the window, from caving into fear, and squeezed her eyes shut. No way could she allow herself to think that. She had done nothing wrong to anyone and she wouldn’t let this…this fucker do this to her. Only she had control of her life and her choices.

“Focus,” she said, rubbing tiny circles along her temples.

She twisted away from the window and opened her eyes. The room was minimalistic in design, muted colors of black and gray. Her shoes clicked off the hardwood floor as she went back to the table. She dropped her hands to her hips, her eyes narrowing behind her glasses. She had to fix this, gain control of the situation. It was the only option. But doing so required that she take the threats seriously.

First it was the shooting and now threats. Trying to ignore this was like ignoring an ache that wouldn’t go away. No good shit comes from that.

She needed to figure out who was behind this letter, and that wasn’t going to be easy. She needed protection. And she knew who to go to.

Detective Alaric Harper.

He’d given her his number and told her to call if she needed him. Well, now she did need him. The man had such terrible people skills, but she didn’t have anyone else to go to. He was also very handsome, she thought as she searched her room, trying to remember where she’d kept his number.