Chapter 13

Jael pawed through the drawer in the bathroom looking for a hair clip she kept there. She wanted to give it to Becca, who needed something to lift her spirits and remind her that she’d chosen the right path. They’d spoken on the phone that morning, and Becca had insisted she was making too much trouble.

“Martin’s right. I ruin everything,” she’d said.

“None of this is your fault.”

Jael had begged her to understand, and when Becca had continued to struggle, made her promise not to make a move until Jael could get there.

The longer she left it, the greater the chance of Becca giving in.

But the clip remained elusive. She slid the drawer shut, moving to her bedside table to check there, but to no avail. She dropped onto the bed, thinking back to the last time she’d worn it. Earlier in the week, Bec had commented on it. Then Jael had had dinner with her dad.

“The dinner,” Jael groaned, flopping backward in despair. At dinner, it had been biting into her scalp. She’d taken it off and couldn’t remember picking it back up again before she left.

Rolling onto her side, she curled into a ball. Her dad had been demanding lately. More than usual. And with Danny’s surveillance and her dad’s constant attention, she avoided contact with him as much as possible. Today was the first time in a while he wasn’t expecting her, and she’d looked forward to the break. If she went to the house, she’d have to make time to sit with him or he’d become suspicious and make excuses to keep her there.

She rang Becca.

“Jael, hi. If you can’t come, I completely understand. I’m feeling better now.”

“That’s not why I’m calling. I wanted to bring you a gift, but it’s going to take me longer to get there than I thought.”

“Why would you get me a gift? I should be getting you a gift for everything you’ve done.”

“I want to do it. But I have to stop by my dad’s place on the way, and visiting my dad is always a delicate situation.”

“You two don’t get along?”

“It’s complicated.”

“I didn’t get along with my dad either. I think that’s why he left my mom and I.”

“I’m sure there’s more to it than that, but if you can hang in there a little longer…”

“Yeah. I’m feeling stronger now. I get these thoughts in my head, and they tangle up my brain, making it hard to think straight, but I won’t make any decisions until you get here.”

“That puts my mind at ease.”

“Then I guess I’ll see you when you get here.”

“It shouldn’t be too long. Just give me an hour or two.”

“I’ll see you then.”

When Jael entered her dad’s house, she wasn’t sure if she wanted him to be alerted to her presence right away or not. But the entry was empty and the house quiet. She shut the door softly behind her and considered taking her shoes off, hoping she could remain undetected for her visit. But if her dad found her, it would be too obvious and create more questions, so she tiptoed instead, ignoring how childish she was acting.

She listened for any indication of movement as she entered the dining room, but it remained silent as she searched the room with no luck. If Sofia had found it, she would have put it in the drawer of the side table in the living room.

She moved silently through the house and touched her fingers to the open door, leaning inside. Her dad was on the couch facing the window. She closed her eyes to compose herself. She would endure this visit for Becca.

After rapping her knuckles on the door, she pushed it all the way open and entered.

“Hey, dad. Sorry to disturb you—” As she stepped in, she saw his head was tucked against his chest in sleep and clamped her mouth shut. Today was her lucky day after all.

Her shoes pressed into the plush carpet as she walked to the long table against the wall and opened the drawer. Her clip was on top of a pile of random items. She lifted it, kissed it, then touched it to the air above her head to thank Sofia wherever she was.

Jael looked to confirm her dad was still asleep and noticed he still had a drink clutched in his hand. It was resting on his stomach where he’d likely spill it before he woke up. She hated that her legs brought her to him to fix it. If he wanted to drink himself into oblivion, that was his problem. She shouldn’t make it hers. But she couldn’t help herself.

As she reached for the glass, she glanced at a newspaper lying on the cushion beside him. He liked to boast that he loved the smell of ink too much to give up on traditional newspapers, making a show of shaking out the pages and clearing his throat as he settled himself in to read.

She scanned the headlines, wondering if it was an article that had him drinking himself into a stupor so early in the day. But there was nothing of interest that she could see.

She tugged at the glass to pull it free, nearly spilling it when his fingers didn’t release. She looked at his face to see if he’d woken, but she jumped back, her breath jerking to a halt as she stared into his dead eyes.

Even though she could already see the truth, she still looked at his chest, willing it to move in breath as she held her own. But he remained still.

She swallowed a lump. “You can’t be dead.”

She should have been more prepared. He was an old man. But he’d maintained a vitality that made it feel like he would live forever. A minute ago, that had been a bad thing, but loss was a traitor. It was unfair that even his death could give her so much pain. It would mean her freedom, but if caged birds don’t know how to fly, what happens when they’re set free?

She moved closer to him, pressing her fingers against his neck to confirm in the only way left to her. She kept her eyes averted, focusing on the meaningless words of an article on stem cell research while she felt for a pulse. She forced herself to hold her fingers still for several seconds before moving away.

When her phone rang, she jumped before scrambling for it. But when she saw Christopher’s name, her thumb paused over the screen. She’d been hoping for a different caller.

She tapped the phone anyway. “Hello?” Her voice sounded strange.

“Jael?” Christopher said.

“Y-yeah. Uh…”

“Sorry…is everything okay? Have you been asleep? Or is this a bad time?”

She walked to the window, wrapping an arm around herself while she pushed her next words out. “No. I—” What was she supposed to say? “I don’t?—”

“Are you okay? You don’t sound well.”

“I, uh… My dad. He’s not—He’s?—”

“Gregory? Has something happened?”

“He’s dead.” She was grateful the words finally fell out of her mouth, although she still struggled to make them stick in her mind.

Christopher was silent for a moment. “Are you in any danger?”

“No.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m—”

“Are you at your dad’s?”

“Yes.” One-word answers. That was what she could handle. Christopher understood that.

“You stay where you are. I’ll be there soon.”

“No—” She didn’t want Christopher, she wanted—but she pushed the thought away. She couldn’t deal with that right now. “Yeah, okay.”

“Hang in there. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll take care of it.”

She nodded at the phone before Christopher hung up. Her attention went back out the window to keep from focusing on everything that lay before her. Christopher said he would handle it. That was a good thing. He was more than capable.

A choked yelp of surprise came from behind.

“Mr. Heber!” Sofia shouted, clutching the pendant around her neck.

Jael hurried over to her, dropping an arm over her shoulder before directing her out of the room. “I’m sorry, Sofia. I should have come to find you right away. I don’t want you to see this.”

“What happened?” Sofia stretched her head over her shoulder to get another look at the room.

“I don’t know. Christopher’s on his way. He’ll know what to do next.”

Sofia made the sign of the cross, then wilted, bumping into a table and nearly knocking a vase off.

“You need to sit down,” Jael said, relieved that she had something to do. She led Sofia to an old decorative chair in the hall. “Let me get you a drink of water.”

“I should be the one getting you a drink,” Sofia said, fanning herself.

Jael rubbed her arm. “It’s okay. Everything will be okay. Can you wait here a second while I get you a drink?”

“No, you must be—I’m sorry. I’m so—your father.”

“I know. It will be okay.”

She squeezed Sofia’s hands and watched her until she turned a corner and went to the kitchen.

The water overflowed in the glass she filled, then she had to set it on the counter to steady her shaking hands. She dropped her head, breathing slowly.

“Everything will be okay.”

Her head spun, and she followed the slackening in her legs to the floor, resting her forehead on the cupboard while she waited for the giddiness to pass. She didn’t know how long she remained close to passing out, but somewhere through the fog, she heard the door.

“Jael?” Christopher called. But she kept her lips pressed firmly together for fear that any change to her demeanor would send her into the blackness.

His footsteps clapped across the floor, then were silenced. When he didn’t appear in the kitchen and her equilibrium returned, she pulled herself up and carried the glass back to Sofia, who was settling herself back in the chair.

“Christopher’s gone inside,” Sofia said, breathless.

Jael nodded and pressed the water into her hand, then went to the living room.

Christopher was standing in front of her father with deep furrows between his brows. His fists rested on his hips as he took in the scene, but he glanced up when he noticed her enter.

“You should stay outside,” he said.

She shrugged. “I’ve already seen it.”

“You don’t look well.” He only waited a beat before moving to her and wrapping his arms around her.

The warm gesture was unexpected, and Jael stiffened at first but relaxed into the solidness of his embrace when the world shifted beneath her feet. She savored it, forgetting how she felt about him, unable to think beyond the moment until Christopher slowly pulled her away, keeping his hands on her arms to steady her.

He looked her over. “I know this is a stupid question, but are you okay?”

“I’m…fine.”

The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “I’m not sure what that means. And I don’t like not being able to fix it for you.”

“I need time. That’s all. I don’t even know what to do next.”

“I’ve called the ambulance and police.”

“Police?”

“I’m sure it’s not necessary, but I thought it best.”

She nodded. “And then what?”

“We’ll need to organize his funeral, but don’t worry about any of that now. I’ll do what I can for you. My dad and I will be here for whatever you need.”

“This isn’t your responsibility. I just need a few hours to get my head around what’s happened.”

He took her hand. “Please. I know how independent you are. I know you can do this all yourself, but I want to help.”

“Okay.”

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her toward the door. “There’s no need to hang around in here. Is there a room I can take you to? Somewhere you’d be comfortable waiting? I’d take you home, but?—”

“No, I’m okay. I’ll sit with Sofia. We’ll wait in the sunroom. She’ll need the support.”

“You’re a generous person, Jael. Always looking out for everyone around you.” He tucked her hair behind her ear, his knuckles brushing her cheek. “But who will look after you?”

She couldn’t meet his eye. “I’ll be okay. My dad would have made sure of it.”

“Of course he would. He loved you very much.”

She bit her tongue. “Thank you for being here.” She pulled from his grasp and went to Sofia, who she found crying softly.

“I can’t believe he’s gone.” Her Mexican accent was stronger in her grief. “He was so good to me.”

“I know he was.” Jael helped her stand, supported her as they went to the sunroom.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do now that he’s gone.” Sofia sniffed.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if my father made provisions for you to be looked after.” Jael directed her to a chair. “How about I make us some tea?”

“It’s not just that. Mr. Heber was so good to me for so many years.”

“And you were good to him. He’ll be missed.” The words tasted sour, but they were no less true. Jael would miss him. It would be impossible not to. As much as he frustrated her in life and diminished her by his manipulation, she’d come to rely on his support. She’d taken it for granted as much as she’d loathed it.

But there was no need to feel fearful about that now. He would have left her his estate, which meant she’d be in control for the first time in her life. It was both a thrilling and a terrifying thought. It would also mean that Vita Nova wouldn’t need to rely on Heber Industries any longer. Jael could run her company the way she wanted.

“Are you feeling all right?” Sofia was giving her an odd look, and Jael screwed her mouth up when she realized she’d been smiling.

“I was remembering the good things about my father,” she lied. If being cold-hearted was required to help others, then she’d give away all her warmth so others could have it. Her heart had lightened at the thought of all the doors opening before her. It was a life she’d never dared imagine, but even now it was beginning to take shape.