Get out. Leave town. Or else.

I look out to the hall, but it’s empty. Who did this?

And what exactly does this person think I’ve done?

It’s a bluff. It has to be. My heart is pounding. I am so sick and tired of people messing with me. Threatening me. Underestimating me. It’s exhausting sometimes, but it does make you stronger. And I am invincible.

CHAPTER 51

ASHLYN

On the way to my appointment, I make a call to Tish’s mom again. I need to ask her a few more questions. She doesn’t answer. I try texting, but it doesn’t go through. Tish must have gotten to her somehow. I lean back in the Uber, try to figure out another way to reach her besides driving to Pineville, Kentucky.

The driver pulls to a stop, and I hop out ready to focus on my task at hand. I was lucky my mom’s naturopath, Bonnie, agreed to squeeze me in this morning to take a look at my elbow. I wait for my appointment in the front room of her home office, taking a moment to quiet my thoughts.

The door opens. “Ashlyn, dear, it’s so good to see you. I haven’t seen you since you were a child. Please come in,” Bonnie says. Her calm presence is just what I need this morning. She wears a rainbow sweatshirt and jeans, and a large crystal hangs from her neck. “I’m so sorry about your dad. I wish I had met him.”

“He was a great guy. I thought he was your patient, too,” I say as I follow her inside.

“No, men can be very reluctant to take care of themselves. They often don’t go to a doctor until things are very serious. What can I do for you, honey?” she asks as I slide onto the exam table.

“I was in a car accident. My elbow is pretty messed up,” I say, and show her.

“Oh dear. OK, let me just take a look at this,” she says, gently examining my arm. The wall of the exam room is lined with shelves, and the shelves hold glass jars and vials of herbs. It smells like a garden in here. “Oh yes, OK. I know just what you need.”

“Mom said you don’t work on bones, but I figured you did,” I say.

“Yes, we handle everything, just like those traditional doctors. Tell your mom to come and see me. She hasn’t been in for years,” Bonnie says.

“I will. So you prescribed the pills for my dad without seeing either of them?” I ask.

“Oh, honey, I don’t do that, not even for your family. Whatever he was taking, they weren’t from me,” Bonnie says. “Come on off the table, and let’s get you all fixed up. And tell your mom she’s overdue for an appointment. She must be under so much stress right now.”

CHAPTER 52

KATE

I lean back in my desk chair and smile. It feels great to have a plan: overturn the fraudulent will, run Tish out of town, calm the investors, watch EventCo grow. Oh, and I’m going to launch my new Forever product. There’s no one around to tell me no. Not anymore.

I swivel my desk chair and find Ashlyn standing at the office door. I wave her in.

“Hi, honey. You were up bright and early this morning. How are you feeling? How’s your arm?” I tilt my head, hoping for an explanation.

“I’m a little sore, but I think it’s better. Stopped by the doctor on the way to work,” she says. “Bonnie told me to tell you hi. She hasn’t seen you for years.”

“Oh, that’s not true. I was just there, to get medicine for your dad.”

“That’s not what she said,” Ashlyn says.

We lock eyes. Will she push me further? I hope not.

Ashlyn drops into the chair across from me. “I’ve enjoyed working here this summer, Mom. It’s weird, not having Dad here, too, though. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. You’re right.” For a moment my anger is replaced with a touch of nostalgia, a glimmer of what if. What if John had been faithful? What if it was the three of us, as a family, celebrating the end of Ashlyn’s internship and the beginning of her senior year at college? But that’s not the way it turned out. And that was all his choice.

Ashlyn wears black pants and a jacket, a white blouse. She’s modeled herself after her mentor, Jennifer, and it’s a good look. She just needs to go on back to college, and everything will be fine.

“You look happy. What’s up?” Ashlyn slides into the chair across from my desk. She looks around conspiratorially. “I think she’s here again, by the way. In Dad’s office. Maybe you should have the locks changed?”

I smile. “I watched her walk in from the street. Don’t worry, she won’t be there long.”

“Good.”

Lance knocks on the door. “Sorry to interrupt. I just thought I’d let you know Tish is in John’s office. And she’s demanding to see Sandra. Something about her space being violated?” Lance shrugs. “I’ve set up the back office for her, the one without a window, next to the restrooms. Sound good?”

“Yes. Perfect.” I nod. “Maybe I’ll go on over there and set her straight.”

We all hear the crash at the same time. It’s the sound of breaking glass, topped off by a woman’s scream.

“Is that Tish?” I ask.

Lance nods.

“She’s lost it,” Ashlyn says.

I’m calm as I walk through the office, across the atrium lobby, and down the hall to John’s office. Now Tish’s office. No, John’s office. I can’t help but notice the employees watching me, anxious to see how this little show is going to play out. They’ve had a front-row seat since this sordid ordeal began.

First it was John and Tish sneaking around, flirting in meetings, and creating all sorts of fodder for the rumor mill. And then, once they were “out” as a couple, the pity and speculation surrounding me grew. Would I quit? Be forced out? Really? The brains and the heart of EventCo? Could John push me to the side as a business partner as easily as he did as a spouse?

The answer to that, of course, was no. Never.

And the answer to Tish is no more.

Sandra stands in the doorway to John’s office, hands on hips. She’s shaking her head like a disappointed schoolteacher.

I can’t see Tish yet, but I can hear her. “I’m telling you, Sandra, someone broke into John’s office and is harassing me.”

“You need to calm down,” Sandra says in a teacher voice.

I touch Sandra’s shoulder and she jumps.

“I’ll handle this.” I step into John’s office.

Tish glares at me, her face locked in a furious frown. “Are you satisfied? This is all your fault.”

I take a moment to view the destruction. John’s desk is somehow flipped forward on its side, the glass lamp smashed on the floor, the computer monitor shattered. This was the crash we heard from my office. It’s unbelievable. Tish is having a temper tantrum like a three-year-old.

“My fault? You’re a wrecking ball. Look at what you’ve done to this office, to this company, to my family.” I am in control. I’ve dreamed of this moment. “If you choose to work here until I invalidate the scam will, your office is in the back. Sandra will escort you there and get you settled.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Tish screams.

I turn to Sandra. “Document this incident and the property damage. It should go in her personnel file. Make certain she understands this is not her office. It is for the new president, who we will hire after an executive search. Make sure Tish understands I’m CEO. I’ll decide what title, if any, she’ll have, and whether her employment will be continued at all. At this point, that’s highly unlikely.”

Tish shakes with anger.

“And please make sure she understands I’m the majority shareholder here. I will make all the decisions for EventCo. If she doesn’t comply, call the police. I’m sure Chief Briggs will be interested to learn of this destructive, out-of-control incident. He’ll be calling soon to confirm Ashlyn’s car was tampered with. There’s so much more we can share with him.”

I turn to walk out of John’s office, and I hear Tish gasp. I can’t help but smile.

“Get back in here, bitch. You can’t do this. I’m the one in the will,” Tish yells, but I’m pretty certain she’ll comply with my demands. It was a gamble but worth it.

“Mom, that was amazing.” Ashlyn walks beside me. Lance is close behind.

Lance pushes my door open and follows us into the relative calm of my office.

I slide into my desk chair. “That went well.”

“You killed it, Kate.” Lance leans against my office door, grinning.

“I loved it.” Ashlyn drops into the chair across from me. “I want to be just like that when I’m the boss. Rad.”

I look up, and Jennifer is at the door. “Did you guys get a chance to talk about the publicity shot? Mother-daughter success and succession story?”

“Yes, I’m in.” Ashlyn seems excited about it. “I know Dad would have loved it.”