by Dale Mayer
Bewildered, Eric reached out and shook his hand. “I thought …” He stopped, confusion settling on his face.
“You thought what?” Liam asked, his tone hard. “You’re the lawyer who tried to double-cross the family, aren’t you?”
Eric shook his head. “I don’t know what’s going on,” he said. “I was told you were comatose and that a power of attorney needed to be drawn up to keep the sanctuary solvent.”
“Why are you here now?” Liam asked.
Eric shot him a resentful look. “Who the hell are you?”
“The name is Liam O’Brien,” he said. “Not that you need my name because I have firsthand knowledge that Lilianna fired you as the lawyer for the sanctuary.”
“She was just upset,” Eric said. “I didn’t take it seriously.”
“Well, that’s too damn bad, isn’t it,” Liam said, “because she already has another lawyer.”
“What are you talking about?”
Jim stepped back slightly so he was more in between the two men. “Eric, you need to tell me what’s going on.”
Eric stared at him, almost dazed. “I can’t believe you’re actually”—he waved his hands—“you.”
“Not only am I me,” Jim said in a very forceful voice, “I’m back with full faculties, and I’m doing just fine, thank you. There’ll be a full investigation as to why I was given drugs to keep me sedated and drugged out like a zombie.”
Liam watched the confusion on the lawyer’s face while figuring Jim out. Liam was almost willing to give the man the benefit of the doubt but not quite yet. “Brianna tried to establish power of attorney over her father. Is that or is that not correct?”
The lawyer nodded. “And that seems to be where the problem came in.”
“Why would you do that?” Jim asked. “Why would you give her control of the estate?”
“Brianna said Lilianna didn’t want to make those decisions. That she was too emotionally tied up and didn’t want to have the power to make the decisions, whereas Brianna did want to,” Eric explained. “And we all know Lilianna is very …” His voice broke off.
“Very what?” Liam asked, his voice low but hard.
A flush crossed Eric’s cheekbones. “She’s delicate.”
Liam’s eyebrows shot up. “Like hell.”
Eric stared at him. “What is your relationship with all this?”
“I’m the one who got this guy back on his feet. And I’m the one who will stop this chaos you appear to be in the middle of,” Liam said in a hard voice. “I was brought in by Gunner, and no way in hell am I’m leaving until I get to the bottom of this.”
Eric looked over at Jim. “You’ve spoken with Gunner?” There was hope in his voice.
Jim shook his head. “I will be talking to him today. I’m heading there this afternoon.”
Eric’s head just couldn’t stop shaking from side to side, as if this was all too much for him. “You’re leaving?”
Jim leaned forward. “Damn right I am. No way I’m staying here for somebody to continue drugging me. When I find out who’s behind that, you can bet I’ll be making sure they are behind bars.”
There was such a look of horror on Eric’s face that Liam had to wonder. “If your name is on any of those documents agreeing to have Jim drugged, you might as well start running now.”
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Eric said.
“All you need to know is that Lilianna’s father was kept in a drugged state so other people could go for his asset base.”
“But she swore he was incapable of even speaking clearly.”
“Who swore that?”
“Lilianna,” Eric said. “That’s why, when she fired me, I figured she was just upset. We’d only spoken a few days earlier.”
There was silence in the room as everybody tried to digest that.
Eric bit out, “See why I’m confused?”
“Not if you consider Brianna changes places with Lilianna at will,” Liam said. “What do you want to bet it was Brianna who told you that?”
“But I spoke to the medical staff here too, and they said he wasn’t cognizant of his surroundings. Or something like that.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. And I don’t know if it was Brianna or Lilianna now. I thought it was Lilianna. But I’m not sure I asked.”
“Of course not,” Liam said smoothly. “And you should know better.”
“I know I had one sister who asked for power of attorney. And one who wasn’t interested.”
“But did you confirm that with Lilianna?”
Eric looked at him. Fear was in the back of his eyes. “No. I’m not sure I did. I thought they were working together and never gave it a thought, figuring Brianna was just trying to help. No, but it never occurred to me that one sister would be trying to do something against the will of the other sister.”
“It didn’t occur to you?” Liam said in disgust. “This kind of shit happens all the time. Nobody ever wants to think the worst of somebody else.”
“Of course not. Besides, the sisters can be very convincing.”
“You mean Brianna can be very convincing,” Jim said in a dry tone.
Eric turned his gaze to him. “I had to have seen both of them.”
“Did you? Can you tell them apart?”
He frowned. “They have very different presences.”
“Do you really think Brianna can’t mimic Lilianna?”
“No. Brianna doesn’t like to cower, and Lilianna doesn’t have that kind of presence.”
Liam watched as the door opened, but the lawyer didn’t appear to hear the sound.
Lilianna frowned at the use of the word cower. She placed the tray down on the coffee table and slammed the door shut. The lawyer jumped. He turned, saw her and smiled. “There you are. Could you please explain to them what’s going on here?”
“I’d love to,” she said, “but I haven’t a clue. How many times do you think you saw me over the last six months?”
He frowned.
“Who am I?”
“You’re Lilianna.”
“I am indeed,” she said. “But I haven’t seen you at all in six months.”
Liam watched the lawyer’s face intently. Liam saw the color blanch from Eric’s complexion, and the man took a faltering half step backward.
Lilianna nodded. “And I will swear to that in a court of law.”
He sat down on a nearby chair, completely shaken. Jim sighed, sat down on the couch and reached for a cup of coffee. “Wow. Sounds like your sister struck again.”
“You have no idea what it’s been like with you gone,” Lilianna said. “The least you could have done was have two different-looking daughters.”
“The least I could have done,” her father said, “was had two daughters who took after me and none taking after your mother.” The father and daughter looked at each other in sympathy.
Liam watched the whole circus. “How is it that you guys can be so calm about Brianna’s behavior?” he asked. “At this point I’d be losing it.”
“There’s something very … determined about Brianna. She believes she’s entitled to it all. She never wanted to be a twin.”
“It doesn’t matter if she wanted to be or not,” Liam said. “I had a brother who thought he should have been an only child. He was physically abusive until I got big enough to fight back.” His tone was hard. “And you can bet, once I could fight back, I did. The thing is, we don’t always get what we want. But each of us deserves the right to live our lives in peace.”
Lilianna nodded. “I guess I never learned to fight back.”
Her father gently caught her fingers in his and held her hand close. “No, you have my personality. And I never could fight back with your mother either. And Brianna is your mother all over again.”
“It wasn’t much fun having her for a mom either,” Lilianna said. “Keith and I were very close because of that.”
Her father nodded. “Exactly why Keith and I bonded so well,
and why you and I bonded, but it’s hard to bond with Brianna. All I see is her mother.”
“And yet she and Mother bonded. She came for the wedding. Do you know that Mom told me it was my fault that I lost my fiancé and how it served me right?” She waved a hand. “Obviously not in those words, but it was pretty damn close.”
Her father sipped his coffee.
Liam just watched and waited for the lawyer to regain control of his voice. But the lawyer seemed to be almost in a comatose state. Good. It gave him a taste of his own medicine.
Chapter 9
Lilianna looked at Eric. “You okay, Eric?”
“No,” he said, his voice faint. “I’m not. I feel like I’ve been played.”
“Sounds like you have been,” her father said. “I warned you a long time ago how that girl was trouble.”
Eric nodded. “You did. I just didn’t see it coming.”
“You never do,” her father said. “I didn’t see their mother come into my world either.”
Everyone sat quietly.
Liam pulled up the spare chair and sat down.
Lilianna wasn’t even sure what to say to him. This was so not what she’d brought him on board for. And they still hadn’t gotten to the bottom of this. But, right now, her father’s health was the priority.
The door opened yet again, and the specialist walked in. He looked at her father and said, “It’s all set. You’re being discharged.” He glanced at his watch. “You need to be out of here by noon.”
“Good,” Jim said. “I want to get out of here. The sooner, the better.”
The specialist looked over at Eric. “Who are you, and what relationship are you to my patient?”
Eric stared up at him. “I’m his friend, and I was his lawyer.”
The specialist’s eyebrows rose steeply. “Are you still his lawyer?”
Eric shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. I’m afraid I haven’t done well by him. Not by choice necessarily, but I have to consider the last six months and what may have gone on.”
Another man walked into the room. Lilianna sighed. “I had no idea there was so much action in your bedroom, Father.”
He chuckled. “Hopefully this will be over soon.” Her father looked at the new arrival. “Harry, I haven’t seen you in ages.”
A big grin lit up Harry’s face. “Now aren’t you a sight for sore eyes? You’re dressed. You’re sitting. You’re talking. Gunner will be more than pleased to see you like this.”
Her father flushed. “Apparently the whole world thought I had disappeared.”
Harry nodded, his gaze assessing and sharp. “Isn’t that the truth?” He looked over at the other men. “Who is who?”
Liam straightened and shook his hand. “I’m Liam.”
Harry nodded. “I’m Harry Stein, Gunner’s attorney and now attorney of record for Jim, Lilianna and the sanctuary. Glad to see you’ve brought all this to a head.” He looked over at the specialist. “Dr. Splicer, good to see you.” The two men exchanged handshakes; then Harry turned to look at Eric, who even now was sitting with an aged expression on his face. “Eric? Tough day, huh?”
“I’ll say,” Eric said with feeling. “There have been some difficult revelations, but we have some things to discuss.”
“One of the first is, where is Brianna?” Harry asked.
Lilianna gasped. “That’s right. She was at the station.” She turned to look at Eric. “Did you get her out of there?”
He gave her a sad smile and nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize what was going on.”
She sagged back on the couch. “Liam, you have to stay with my father. You have to make sure he’s safe.”
Liam shook his head. “No way Harry came alone. Not if there was any danger to Dr. Splicer, your father or even Harry himself. I highly suspect there’ll be some men outside the door, waiting.” He looked over at Harry. “Correct?”
Harry nodded and looked at Lilianna. “The local police are outside Jim’s room. I also brought some enforcers of my own. No way Gunner wants to see you hurt either.”
“She won’t be,” Liam said, his voice hard.
“And I’ll be backing up Liam,” North said, leaning negligently against the doorjamb.
Harry looked at him. “And who the hell are you?”
“I’m North. Liam and I have been here helping Lilianna.”
“Good enough. Where do you want to do the paperwork? We have a lot to talk about.”
“Better here so everybody is on board.”
“The only one who doesn’t need to be involved in these legalities is Dr. Splicer.”
Dr. Splicer nodded. “I have some phone calls to make, so I’ll give you twenty minutes, and then I’ll come back. Good enough?”
Harry smiled. “If we can get this done in that short time, it would be the fastest legal lesson ever.”
*
Dr. Splicer walked out at that moment.
Lilianna seemed to sag in place.
Liam walked around to stand between Eric and her with North standing on the other side of the couch—bookends.
Harry nodded. “You’ll stay and keep an eye on Lilianna?”
“We will. If you’re taking her father to Gunner’s place, he’ll be safe. So we’ll be with her.”
“What the hell’s going on?” she asked.
“According to the documentation and our conversation with Eric this morning,” Harry said, “your sister has been trying to get power of attorney and sell a section of the sanctuary to a development company.”
Jim cried out, “What?”
“Yes. She’s had direct contact with a development company that wants the far section with the lake.”
Her father shook his head. “There’s no way. We need that water for the animals.”
Lilianna looked at her father’s new lawyer. “How far along in the process has she gotten?”
“I need to get a judge to hear the case, so we can put a stop to her shenanigans.”
“Before Keith’s accident,” her father said slowly, “a company approached me about that land. I said absolutely no way. Keith was of the same mind. We needed the water rights and the land for the elephants. Plus, we were looking at bringing in more animals because we have the space.”
Lilianna nodded. “I know that’s the prettiest piece of all of the property.”
“It’s also closer to town. There’s a main highway coming in soon that’ll be not that far away from it, and they could put a huge development in there and make a lot of money,” the lawyer said.
Eric seemed to sink deeper into the chair. “Dear God, what have I done?”
“Trying to sign away part of my property apparently,” Jim roared. “What the hell, Eric?”
“I didn’t know about this. I was trying to protect your estate, that’s all,” he cried out.
“Has anyone called the cops and picked up Brianna again?” Liam asked.
Harry pulled out his phone. “I’ll get on that right now.”
“Talk to Detective Olson,” Liam said. “He’s the one who took her away this morning. She should still be there, damn it.” He glared at Eric, who seemed to cringe inside himself even more.
“Somebody needs to pick up her husband too,” North said.
“Do you think Carlos is part of this?” Lilianna asked.
Jim looked at her. There was almost pity in his gaze. “Honey, Carlos was bad news right from the beginning.”
She sighed. “I know. Now.”
“It didn’t just start now,” Jim said. “How long ago did they get married?”
She frowned. “Eighteen months ago. Mom came up to visit, about four or five months ago, and then I guess it wasn’t long after that you apparently attacked the nurse and went straight downhill from there.”
“Well, if somebody said I attacked your mother, and that’s the reason I was drugged, I might believe them,” he said with a dry tone. “That woman can set me off faster than anybody.”
He frowned. “Actually …” He shook his head. “Can somebody check if she came to see me? Because I have in my head a huge fight. I can’t tell what’s real and what’s not real.”
North said, “I’m on it.” He slipped out of the room.
Jim stared at the door. “He’s quiet.”
“He’s also very good,” Liam said. “But we need to ensure none of your sanctuary land changes hands, stopping the sale from being registered. Because not only will the land be gone but you know the money’ll be gone too.”
The lawyer was over at the window, having a hard and fast conversation. When he hung up, he turned. “The cops are looking for Brianna now.” His voice droned on as he made several calls, getting other people in on the action.
Jim sat there, his hands in front of him. “She wouldn’t just take the land away from me, would she?”
“You might want to consider the fact that, as far as she’s concerned, it wouldn’t be taking it from you at all,” Lilianna said. “She never thought the elephants needed as much space as they have, and that was always the space brought up in the past for sale. If she thought that land was of interest to developers, then it would make sense she might be after it now.”
“Carlos and she both came to my office,” Eric said. “That’s why I knew it was Brianna. Because she was there with her husband.”
“Then he wasn’t there sometimes?”
He turned a dazed look toward her. “Right. And she had clothes more like you wear. They were quieter, softer. Her hair would be in a braid, like you always wear. When she was with him, it was always curls and waves and makeup. She appeared completely different.”
Liam almost felt sorry for Eric. Brianna had pulled a fast one on him, and, instead of being someone who was defending Jim’s land and looking after the daughters’ future, he’d been duped.
Eric shook his head as he seemed to be putting the puzzle pieces together. “They were working on a tight time frame. The medications had to be administered long enough to prove your father wasn’t improving. Then a POA application could be rushed through, and the property deal signed as soon as possible. They had to complete these steps before Lilianna found out about the POA and launched a legal challenge to stop the property sale. Oh, my God …”