wo extr

to answer, tension

was steady, but there was some

Like you must have heard, there's some

oming here," I cut him off, my

right now. You he

ponse, hanging up as I pu

ok at me, surprise and confus

" I snapped, already m

reconven

ed outside, the heat hit me like a wal

chauffeur leaning against the gate, idly scrolli

off the nearby buildings. He nearly drop

," I ordered, bare

o 312 East 54t

senger door and slid

leb was still fumbling with the keys,

e parking lot because people turned to stare as

ghts spiraled. *Why now?* My grandfather was alway

ell to pay. But if it wasn't... what then could the old man have left behind

t of the office complex, a place that

I was out, striding towards the entrance with

past her. I knew exactly where I was going Maxwell Pierce's office, wh

y anger burn hotter. His hair was dyed a stark white, contrasting sharply with his d

smoothly, gesturin

a seat

re to sit,"

What did my grandfathe

into a drawer and pulled out a file. He set it on the desk and slid it toward

s a single sheet of paper with my grandfather's familiar handw

y shepherd; I

ed by a line that sent

er the

years. I was a child again, sitting in my grandfather's stu

e from his worn Bib

d, Adrian, he had said, hi

en you must stand alone,

o impart some deep wisdom through that simple touch. The memory was so vivid, it was

lf back to the present.

er the

s was my grandfather's doing, and whatever wa

emed to tilt off its axis. The words blurred as the reality of what I was reading sank in. I

atching in my throat. The magnitude of what my grandfather had planned, the implicat

e of this. But there was nothing. The paper slipped from my fingers and floated to the floo

ckering across his usually composed

's final wishes pressed down on me. Maxwell's voice became a distant murmur as he called my name, trying to get my

office in a daze, barely aware of Maxwell's worried gaze following me. I felt like I had been st

, . I had just rejected my dinner, my stomach

to quiet the storm inside me. The verse and my grandfather's words kept repl

pered to the empty room, the sound o

door broke through my thou

st say I'm

the chief maid ha

s Barrister Pierce. He br

uh

I grabbed a towel. Wrapping it around myself, I yanked the doo

n the hallway, half expecting to

Barrister Pierce was there, sitting calmly

ge, and I stiffened, my patience wear

ht?" I demanded, spinning around t

ierce spoke up, his voice c

like that. Your grandfather also contracted me with the duty of rec

rd was the absurdity of it. I clenched

cause you hired a cleaner? Y

or opened behind me, and I sp

beautiful woman. She was poised, elegant, and carried an air of quiet confidence that was complete

ze, the tension crackling between us like a live wire. The questions, the anger

is