The Vampire Hunter's Daughter: Complete Collection(74)

Maxwell stood up to greet her. “Nice to see you, Vanessa. Would you like a seat?”

I chuckled to myself while I watched Vanessa scan the room. We were taking up all the couches and chairs, so there was nowhere else to sit.

Ha! Take that, freaky psycho vamp.

My victory was short-lived. Miss Crimson Lips produced a chair from the other room and sat it off to the side of Maxwell’s desk, as far from us as she possibly could.

“There you are.” She offered the chair to Vanessa.

I was surprised Christina had kept her mouth shut the entire time. It probably had something to do with her father being there. Funny how people were totally different around their parents.

Maxwell shuffled a few papers on his desk. “We await one more, and then we can begin.”

One more… who else was coming?

Vanessa removed her sunglasses and peered at me with a smug look. “It’s so nice to see you, Chloe. May I inquire as to why you are here?”

Oh, the nerve. “Trevor was my father,” I responded. “Why wouldn’t I be here?”

She waved her perfectly manicured fingers through the air. “Oh, I don’t know, Trevor not really giving a damn about you wouldn’t have anything to do with it, now, would it?”

“Enough!” Maxwell snapped at Vanessa. “We are here to discuss the last will and testament, and that is all. Any other issues can be addressed elsewhere.”

Yay, Maxwell.

Once again, there was a rap on the door. After it opened, I was surprised to see Dahlia there. She was as beautiful as ever, her porcelain skin and pale hair making her look like a goddess of some kind. Only today, instead of interest, I saw anger when she laid eyes on me.

She quickly capped it and removed black leather gloves from her hands.

“Hello, Abraham. It is so nice to see you.”

It occurred to me this was the first time I had ever heard her speak. Her voice was delicate and beautiful, like the rest of her.

He took her hand and kissed the back of it, then led her to another chair that had been set beside Vanessa’s. “And it is even more so to have you here, Dahlia.”

She glanced at where Alice and I sat smashed together and gave us a nod.

I wanted this to be over. At least we were able to get on with the reading.

“Very well. Now that we are all here, we can commence the reading.” Maxwell sat in his chair and pushed a button on his phone. “Margaret, would you please bring the television?”

“Right away, Mr. Maxwell,” she piped back through the intercom.

Not a minute later, there she was, rolling in a flat screen on a cart. She parked it off to the side where everyone would be able to see it.

“Trevor left us a video will. In support of the video, there is paperwork to accompany it.”

He stood and inserted a DVD into the disc drive underneath the television, then took his chair while Margaret dimmed the lights.

Suddenly, a face I never wanted to see again appeared before us. I shifted uncomfortably and gave Alice’s leg a squeeze before I stood. I couldn’t handle sitting and staring at his face, especially with Vanessa and Dahlia in the room.

While Trevor spoke, I moved to stand beside Drew. He silently moved behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I knew it was hard for him to make himself vulnerable by not having quick access to his guns.

I snuck a glance at Christina and saw her staring at us. Our eyes met, but she quickly looked away. I could see jealousy there, still. Somehow, I didn’t think she and I were ever going be friends.

“If you are watching this, then I no longer exist,” Trevor stated. His dark hair and eyes focused on the camera. “If you are sitting in this room, it means you were important to me in one way or another, and I have given you something of importance that I possessed during my existence.”

His face, his voice, everything about him made me shake. I hated him. Even though he was gone, I still hated him.

“Let’s begin with my estates. All of my homes, including the one in Greece, and everything in them, I bestow to Alice Matthews. Alice, you may do whatever you wish with the homes. I know I haven’t said in clear enough words what you meant to me. So maybe the wealth and importance of such a gift will show you just how much you meant to me. If I could have come close to loving anyone else but Felicia again, it would have been you.”

Alice burst into tears. I had thought we were past this, but I could understand how being able to see his face would be hard on her. Christina, of all people, got up from her space on the other couch and grabbed the box of tissues from Maxwell’s desk. She handed them to Alice with a slight nod and then went back to her spot.

I was proud of Christina then.

“Next, the three clubs I own will cede to Vanessa Darling.” Trevor smiled into the camera. “Vanessa, I expect these clubs to be run in the same fashion I have managed them in the past. If you have any problems with the clubs on your own, contact Abraham Maxwell to see about finding a prospective buyer.”

Vanessa sniffled, as though she were actually upset he was gone and she had three of his clubs.

“Now, I have several items in a safe. They are very old, and I would like them to return from whence they came. Dahlia, the jewels inside my safe are those that were stolen from your crown several hundred years ago. I have no more use for them. I apologize for our past conflict. I took the jewels to make your people hate you. It was that or kill you… and I couldn’t bring myself to kill you… not you… I regret our troubles in the past, but I am honored to have known you.