Page 62 of Fight Or Flight

The clock ticked for two eternal seconds. Finally, Natalie lost her cool. “Well, will she?!”

Speeler sat back in his seat, taken aback at her outburst. “It’s certainly possible, Ms. Alvarez. But even if she doesn’t succeed, we may still lose.”

Natalie tried to understand what the hell he was saying but came up short. The blank looks on Ethan’s and Chelsea’s faces made her feel a little better about her total confusion.

“I’m sorry. What does that mean?” Ethan asked.

“Anne is claiming that the original will Elizabeth had, which named Robert the sole beneficiary of the entire property as well as the shares Elizabeth held in Monroe Corp., is still valid, because . . .” He paused for a moment, adjusted his glasses. “Because she claims that you two are not Robert’s children.”

Natalie’s head started spinning. She wanted to run away again. She couldn’t believe she’d found herself in this room again, listening to this bullshit.

“Why would that matter?” Ethan asked. “Elizabeth could have left her entire property to a complete stranger. She left part of it to me, and I’m not family. That’s her right.”

“That’s true,” Speeler said. “But she’s claiming that Ms. Alvarez and Ms. Davenport unlawfully convinced Elizabeth to rewrite the will.”

“That’s not true at all!” Chelsea said.

“I know, Ms. Davenport. But she has the financial means to drag this out for a long time.”

“So I was right?” Chelsea asked. Her eyes blazed, and she pounded a fist against the table. “She’s only doing this because she lost the election? Inventing all manner of crap to convince people she’s a victim?”

“I believe so. These plans have been in the works for the past week. She told her lawyer to call as soon as the results were in. If she won, she would drop it. But if she lost, she would proceed.”

“Why wait, though?”

“Well, I suspect it’s because there would have been a lot of terrible publicity had she proceeded during an election. She has nothing left to lose now.”

“What about Emily?”

“Anne likely added Emily on without her even knowing, possibly for sympathy. Based on what Elizabeth told me, Emily has been deeply under her mother’s thumb her whole life.”

Natalie wanted time to process it all, but there were just too many questions firing off in her head.

“What about the Monroes?” Natalie asked. “You said she claims to be the rightful owner of the shares they inherited?”

“Exactly right. I’m sure that’s part of the reason she put it off as well. Because of the way the original will had been written, a distinction cannot be made between the property and the shares. She has to contest it all.”

Natalie winced. “I can’t imagine they’ll take this lightly.”

For the first time, Speeler looked more tired than grumpy. He took another drink from his mug, then stretched his neck. “No. They won’t. It certainly complicates matters. I’m waiting to see how their lawyer responds. Victor Monroe is shrewd. He may choose to make a deal with Anne and fight alongside her—that’s what I would advise him to do if I were his counsel.”

“What are you saying?” Ethan asked.

“I’m saying, if the Monroes align with Anne and decide to fight us, we won’t win. You won’t get the pond. Ms. Alvarez and Ms. Davenport won’t get the property. There’s no way we can fight them both.”

They all sat in silence with varying looks of horror on their faces. They all had something major to lose. Ethan, the pond; Natalie, her peace and freedom; and Chelsea . . . well, Chelsea would probably lose out the most.

Natalie watched her sister as she swallowed several times, blinking back tears that welled up in her eyes.

“So we can’t sell,” Chelsea said, dazed.

“No,” Speeler said. “Not until the matter is completely settled.”

Natalie chanced a glance at Ethan and found him staring at her with a guarded expression. Then looked at Chelsea and found the same thing. Lastly, she looked at Speeler, who was staring a hole in her head.

“What?” she asked the room.

“We should ask you that, Ms. Alvarez. What are you going to do?”

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