Then the kitchen. The foyer.Every nook. Every corner.The ring just wasn’t there.Sitting in the middle of the living room on the carpet, looking around at the destruction of what was once my home, I finally allowed the sense of defeat to overtake me. It pulled me down into a cold dark pit.Logan’s
Frank sat down in the empty recliner across from the couch. His feet flat on the ground, his hands on his knees, he leaned forward, staring us down.“We’ve warned you about your grandfather as much as we could,” Frank said. “We knew it would be difficult for you, facing off against him on your own.
Adopted?“This is a bad time for a joke,” I said, even as my body went cold.“I’m sorry, but I’m not joking,” Dylan said. “I looked into it before saying anything. The paperwork is legitimate, Hazel. You weren’t born a Whitaker. Neither was your sister. But don’t believe whatever bullshit Senior is
Dylan gave Logan Natalie’s number, and after hanging up with Dylan, I took Logan’s phone into the guest bedroom to make the call. Logan offered to join me, but I refused.“This is between sisters,” I told him.He seemed to understand.Alone now in the bedroom with the door closed, I sat on the edge
I had a restless night, unable to find any sleep with so many revelations bouncing around in my head.Logan did his best to help me, holding and kissing me, but before too long, he couldn’t keep his eyes open. I watched him sleep, dozing only lightly here and there.When the sun came up, it was almo
We really did look alike.“What happened to her?” I asked.“She had many demons. Addictions that stole her youth,” Rosa said. Turning the phone toward herself, she frowned sadly at it. “By the time we became friends, she’d moved passed all that. But the damage to her body had already been done. She
“Rosa,” Logan began, turning to her. “You can’t be too pleased with how the media has been portraying your friend.”“Not all of it is lies,” Rosa said, frowning deeply. “Angela had a past, but she also worked hard to overcome it. They don’t mention that on the news, even though they should.”I could
The next day, Logan and I sat on the couch. Logan lifted the remote for the television. I was nervous, not certain what fresh hell might await us today. What lies could Mr. Hatfield Senior have concocted overnight?“Ready?” Logan asked me.I wasn’t. Not by a longshot. But I’d never be ready, so I li
“I’ve been in this game for too long,” Senior said. “When I first got the news, I could only think about my legacy. I became obsessed with it. I’m not like you, Walter. I didn’t think about my family, or anyone else. Only myself.” “It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks,” Mr. Hudgens said. He la
“Janice,” Senior said. All smug arrogance disappeared from his voice. “What are you doing here?” “At first I didn’t think I would come,” Janice replied. “After all these years… I didn’t want to see your face ever again for as long as I lived. Better to leave well enough alone. But… after hearing e
I glanced down at my pink blouse and gray slacks. What was so wrong with my outfits? I dressed professionally… mostly. He really thought I needed supervision to pick out an outfit.Looking at Logan, I saw my own disbelief mirrored back at me. This was absolutely ridiculous.“Is that it?” Walter aske
In front of the partition screen, a large table had been assembled, with rows of chairs on either side, facing each other. We took our side, and Senior and his team of lawyers took theirs. There were so many lawyers that many of them had to stand.Senior sat across from Logan, though his glare of di
“He might surprise us,” Dylan said, a shred of hope in his voice, under a healthy level of cynicism.“Don’t hold your breath,” Frank replied.“The problem is we don’t know fully what to expect,” Mabel said. “Well – other than Senior being a crotchety asshole who will try to cheat us at every turn. W
“It’s time to talk to Logan and Hazel and stop this whole thing,” Dylan said. “You are outnumbered and outmatched, with so many people ready to stand against you.”Opening the top of the folder, Senior glared down at the stack of papers in the stack. “Disgruntled former employees. Fake friends. Fami
“We were just hoping to talk to her,” I said.The man’s brow lifted slightly. “Are you selling something? Wait -- why do you look familiar?” Narrowing his eyes, he gazed at us with suspicion. Then, suddenly, recognition must have struck him because his eyes widened. “You’re those people from the new
Despite the general unpleasantness of the conversation with the mayor and the governor, they eventually agreed to let us go. They had no real reason to hold us, and Logan saw through their veiled threats easily enough.In fact, he even seemed to make them feel to make them feel like unsupportive fri
That day, we changed our minds and decided to release six interviews to the website, with Michael Hatfield’s being the final. Overnight, the story gained so much national traction that the sheriff and two security men show up at our door.“Logan Hatfield? Hazel Whitaker? The mayor wants to speak wit