Maria

“Jöel, what are you doing here?” I asked, shocked to see my ex-husband standing outside my foyer in the early hours of the morning.

“Grandma Doris is dead. She died a few hours ago. I thought you would want to know, considering you two were close.” He said, breaking the sad news.

Grandma Doris was a kindhearted woman. Not once did I doubt her having my best interest at heart. I never shared this piece of information with anyone, but she was the one who advised me to divorce Jöel the first time he slept with the maid.

She stood by me right up until the moment I finalized the divorce in court. Amidst the backlash from family members that she chose a stranger over her grandson. She made sure I received my alimony in full.

I gasped, moving outside to shut the door. My parents, if they found out Jöel was here, would probably kill him on a whim and regret their actions later.

“She was healthy the last time we met. What happened?” I whimpered, wrapping my hands over my body to ward off the cold.

Jöel retorted, not hiding his amusement.

“She didn't tell you she had stage three stomach cancer? I thought you two were close.”

Typical Grandma Doris. She cared more for other people than she did for herself. I'm sure she withheld the information about her health because she didn't want me to worry about her. I wish she had told me she was sick. I would have made sure she didn't feel alone until the very end. I owed her that much.

“Everyone is gathered to say their farewells. You should come.” He offered. That wasn't debatable. I intended on being there when she was laid to rest. I owed her that much.

The moment I got into the shower. I should have known not to go to work. Not with my dim mood and sour behavior.

Reed Oil & Gas resumed operation two days after the holiday blues. The company owned by Quinton Reed was up and running, bubbly and buzzing with life. I was the only one absentminded, blanking out every now and then as the Head of Survey & Testing mapped out the department's plan for the season. He, as well as other workers, noticed my laxity and waited until the meeting was over before summoning me to his office.

“Maria. You are my second in command. I expect you to be body and mind present at our meetings.” He complained.

I apologized, not having any reason for not being compliant with work. This was my way of dealing with the loss of Grandma Doris. I had cried enough under the shower and while preparing for work this morning. Yet, I still couldn't get rid of the tightening in my chest.

Over the weekend. I drove to the Farrow Mansion. It was a big building made of fine bricks located almost at the outskirts of Iceland. Grandma Doris had a story for why the family house was built that far away from civilization. According to her. It was the only place in Iceland where land was cheap. Since the colonialists at the time had acquired all the lands in the city and its environs.

Because I enjoyed listening to her stories. I pretended to believe the lie she told me. Land wasn't that expensive in the city as compared to where the Farrows were based.

The whole family was complete. The eldest son of Grandma Doris and Jöel’s father sent me an unwelcome stare as I stood under the canopy watching as her coffin was being lowered into the ground.

Standing beside him were Jöel and his pregnant girlfriend. Their love story was a discussion for another day. The one thing I knew, which Jöel couldn't bring himself to accept, was that the pregnancy wasn't his. I knew that because my dear ex-husband was impotent, even though he refused to take the tests to prove that I was right.

Immediately after the burial procession was over. The entire family went into merriment. It was as though the tone and mood had changed. Instead of being grim. At least pretend for a day that they were heartbroken by the demise of their matriarch. They ate and drank, talking in a loud tone among themselves.

“The lawyer's here.” Grandma Doris' only daughter said, nudging her other sibling.

This was my cue to leave. I wasn't family, and whatever was written in the will of Grandma Doris had nothing to do with me.

As I prepared to leave. The lawyer called me back. He was adamant, refusing to read the will unless I was present at the reading. Of course no one was pleased that I was invited, and they didn't fail to make their displeasure known.

The will reading commenced. Lands were shared, money handed out. Manor estates belonging to Grandma Doris were allotted to her grandchildren.

Then it came to the moment that they were all waiting for. The person who got to own Farrow Staples.

“Grandma Doris wants Maria Johnson to have Farrow Staples. It will be run by Jöel for now, until she is well acquainted with the ins and outs of the company.” He said, brewing up an instant uprising from her children and grandchildren, who all blamed me for manipulating her into giving me their inheritance.

“I don't want it.” I began, addressing the lawyer, “I never asked for any of this.”

The bald middle-aged man shut the file before him, shoving it into his suitcase. “I'm not the one who wrote the will. All I did was read it. Whatever you decide to do from here on is on you.” He said, leaving me at the mercy of the furious Farrow family.

Jöel followed behind me all the way to my car. “Maria, we both know I am the rightful heir to Farrow Staples. Hand it over.” He requested.

“And if I don't?” I asked, gauging his reaction to my question.

“You will. Don't think for a second that my family will let an outsider become CEO of a company we've all poured our blood and sweat into.” He thundered, the old Jöel, the one who used to be verbally abusive, simmering at the surface.

“You have less than twenty-four hours to make the right choice. After that, you're on your own.” He said, leaving to decide if Farrow Staples was worth fighting Jöel and his entire family for.

And if perhaps I decided to wage war with them. I needed someone who knew all of them on a very personal level. Let's say a family member or a close friend.

Antonia opened the door on the first ring. I knew where to find Cade. He wasn't that difficult of a person to track down. Overwhelmed with the urgency for answers, I opened his room door without knocking.

Standing in all his male glory. Six-pack and taut abs out in the display with a towel hooked on his hips was Cade. I gulped loudly, willing my eyes not to look anywhere else but his face.

Once I was able to remember my reason for being here. I didn't hesitate to make my request known.

“I need your help.”