Читать книгу Leesa's Story: Book Three of the Lane Trilogy - Vicki Inc. Andree - Страница 5

The baby’s wail drowned out the dead man’s voice. Leesa rolled her eyes and grimaced as Lyza held baby Levi to her shoulder, patting him softly on his back until he quieted and sighed.

Aaron Stern, Father’s attorney and executor, restarted the DVD. On the screen at the front of the room, Lawrence Lane, dressed in a dark blue Armani suit, revealed his last will and testament. “Since my beloved Lana passed several months ago, life has not been worth living. When the doctors told me cancer had invaded my body, it was a blessing. I have left a written will, but I felt it necessary for you to see and hear me make my last will and testament, as I expect all of you will be surprised.

“To my twin daughters, Lyza and Leesa, I leave my love, and the firm belief that they will use what I gave them while I was alive to help make a better world. I leave them the benefit of their education, the business savvy I taught them, and the wisdom of how to use them…

“And finally, let it be known that all my worldly possessions, all of L. L. Lane Unlimited, and all my hopes for the future of the Lane name go to Levi Lawrence Lane, the newest member of the Lane family. Levi, you were named for my father who died in a Nazi death camp. Be blessed and honor his name with your life. May you go forth into a life of learning, love, and good deeds.”

A vein in Leesa’s forehead throbbed. She wanted to throw something. Instead, she clung to the chair with white knuckles. I’ll never forgive him. He told me to take over. He told me it was all mine. For months, I’ve knocked myself out running the business. How could he? He disowned that turncoat. She glared across the table at her twin sister, Lyza, who held the fussy little brat.

Lyza stared at the screen. “I—I don’t understand. Can you play it again? Father disowned me.” She positioned baby Levi on her shoulder and gently patted his back. “There, there, Mommy’s here. Everything’s all right.” Levi stopped crying and curled up against her.

Leesa glanced around the attorney’s conference room. Aaron Stern sat next to her. Across the table, Lyza and her husband, David, took turns holding the baby. Tension filled the room as four adults stared at the screen. The fifth person in the room wailed again.

Leesa straightened and snarled, “You snake. I don’t know how you pulled it off, but you got everything.” She gathered her purse and cell phone, stood up, and stomped to the door. She paused to sneer. “Good luck, Sis. You’re going to need it.”

Leesa stumbled to her bright yellow convertible. She fumbled with the car keys; they hit the asphalt. Bending down to pick them up, she hugged herself. I feel sick. I hate that woman and her little brat. A Jew-killing Christian, that’s what she is, and Father disowned her for it. What happened? What made him change his mind? I could throw up right now. I’ve got to get out of here.

After snatching the keys off the hot pavement, Leesa stood, jerked open the car door, and flung herself into the driver’s seat. She turned on the ignition and gunned the engine. Her tires squealed as she left the parking lot.

Once on the street, she popped the gears, leaving another patch of rubber. Within a minute, she reached eighty miles per hour—just as she passed the police cruiser in a school zone.

Red lights flashed in her rearview mirror. Her rage flared. She mashed the accelerator to the floor.

***

Earlier that morning, Officer Blake’s day had started out badly, with a fight over money—again. His wife threw down the gauntlet, giving him an ultimatum: either he could hand over his check each month or he could take over the bills. She didn’t even make coffee. He was late to check into headquarters, his head throbbing from caffeine withdrawal. What’s the matter with her? She knew I wanted to go to Vegas last weekend.

As Blake walked into the morning briefing, his superior officer looked up from his notes on the podium. “That’s the third time this week, Blake.”

Blake forced his mouth to stay shut. Thanks. Did you have to say it in front of everyone?

His superior officer added, “Don’t force me to make an example of you. Consider this a serious warning.”

Feeling like a whipped dog between his wife and his boss, Blake took a seat at the front of the group of officers. “Yes, sir.”

The superior officer continued the briefing. “Yesterday, my daughter almost got hit by a car speeding in a school zone. She’s a smart kid and got his license plate number. I went to the house myself and arrested the guy. I’m making it a priority to police school zones this week…”

Blake could barely concentrate. He disliked his superior officer, and that morning’s encounter didn’t help. If I didn’t need this job, I’d quit. I would. But I have to feed my family.

***

After Leesa left, Lyza sat at the conference table, shocked. “I don’t believe it.”

Aaron Stern placed printed forms in front of her. “You’re the parent of the sole heir; therefore, you’ll be responsible for maintenance and distribution of the inheritance. I’ve inventoried the conglomerate, the home estate, and various other investments.”

He placed a large expanding file on top of the forms. “This file contains transfer forms, lists of possessions, and other documents necessary to fulfill your position as guardian of the estate. I can recommend an accountant.”

Lyza protectively cradled the premature Levi. “Father disowned me. I thought he was through with me.”

David took the baby. “Maybe he regretted shouting at you, making you trip over that chair and have Levi prematurely. Your father must have changed his will before our last meeting with him.”

Her father’s frail body had lain in a hospital bed, in his own bedroom. She’d watched in awe as he repented of a life of unbelief, saying he saw angels filling his room. I felt his peace. Thank God he finally realized how much God loved him, before he passed on.

Lyza looked at David. “Obviously, he never told Leesa about the change. She’s been running the company for months. She must feel betrayed. I’ve never seen her act as ugly as she did today. She’s changed. I’d thought she honored Father’s decision to disown me because of his authority and out of respect for him. I thought after he was gone, we could be sisters again. But today she looked angry… and greedy.”

David strapped Levi in his carrier. “What are you going to do?”

Lyza picked up a pen to sign the stack of papers in front of her. “I can’t turn my back on our son’s inheritance. Father’s running my life from the grave. I have to go back to Lane Unlimited. Someone has to run the business. From what Bill told me, things have gotten out of hand. Leesa’s made so many changes that employees worldwide spend more time job hunting than they do taking care of business.”

David wiped drool from Levi’s mouth. “We prayed for reconciliation with your father, and God blessed us with that and so much more. You can do this.”

Lyza put her elbows on the table and sank her face into her hands. “You know this isn’t what I wanted. All I want to be is a pastor’s wife—to have a home, and have babies, and make dinner for my husband, and go visit sick people, and go on mission trips.”

David snapped the baby carrier into the stroller. He approached her and put his hand on her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. Honey, everything’s going to be all right.”

Lyza patted his hand. “I hope so. I don’t think you understand how this will change our lives.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Change our lives? Of course it will. But we have some control over how it changes our hearts. You can run L. L. Lane Unlimited. The employees respect you. They know your keen business sense and drive from before you quit.”

***

The yellow convertible sped through a red light. Officer Blake switched on the siren and called for backup. The blond woman driving stomped her brakes with both feet, screeching to a stop. Blake yanked the wheel to the right to jump the curb and narrowly missed hitting the convertible, stopping next to it.

He jumped out of his car and pulled out his gun. “Get out of the car! Put your hands up, and get out of the car!”

She sat, not moving, tears running down her face.

Keeping his gun trained on her, Blake yanked open her car door. “Get out. Put your hands up.”

She raised her hands. He pulled her out, pushed her to the ground, holstered his weapon, and cuffed her.

“You can’t do this to me. I’m Leesa Lane. Let me go.”

Blake ignored her plea and pulled her to her feet, still cuffed. He turned her to face him.

She glared at him. “You didn’t have to do that. Police brutality. Get these cuffs off.”

He blandly reminded Leesa of her rights. “You have the right to remain silent; you have the right to an attorney. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law.”

“What?!” she screamed. “I ‘have the right to an attorney’? You bet I have an attorney. I’m going to sue your pants off. Get your hands off me. Do you know who I am?”

He continued in his business tone. “I don’t care who you are.”

He shoved her towards his police car as the backup car rolled to a stop next to them.

The window lowered, and Officer Norris asked, “Everything here under control?”

Blake hauled Leesa toward his car. “I got it.”

Leesa shouted, “Kiss your jobs good-bye! I’ll have both your badges!”

Officer Norris jumped out and opened the door for Blake to force Leesa into the back seat, shoving her head down. “Watch your head.”

“How dare you!”

Blake had enough. “How dare I? How dare you. How dare you go eighty miles an hour in a school zone endangering the lives of children? How dare you run a red light at a busy intersection? You could have killed someone and even your own sorry self.” He slammed the door.

Officer Norris nudged Blake and nodded at the yellow convertible. “See that license plate?”

The personalized California plate said, “LANE.”

Blake climbed in the driver’s seat and shut his door. “So what? She’s got a personal plate.”

Officer Norris looked behind Officer Blake’s head. “Oh, yeah. It’s Lane, all right. You just busted one of the Lane twins. You know, L. L. Lane Unlimited.”

Blake’s headache kicked him. He needed coffee. “Okay, but she’s busted for sure. For a moment, we had a high-speed chase going. She was going ninety when she ran that light. I’ll testify to it.”

***

Aaron Stern strode into the Los Angeles County Courthouse after refusing to bail Leesa out the previous morning. She needed to spend a night in jail and get a dose of reality. Racing through a school zone is serious. They assured me she’d be in a cell by herself. She’s going to be livid, anyway.

The judge pounded her gavel. “Los Angeles County versus Leesa Lane.”

Aaron approached the judge as an officer brought Leesa forward to stand next to him. She glared at him through unkempt hair and smeared mascara. “How dare you leave me here overnight.”

He whispered back, “Are you all right?”

She rubbed her arms. “They put me in solitary confinement.”

Aaron lifted one eyebrow. “You can thank your lucky stars for that.” He directed his attention to the front of the room.

“Mr. Stern, you’re the attorney of record for Miss Lane. How do you plead?”

He straightened. “Not guilty. Your honor, Miss Lane was distraught at the time. We agree that she shouldn’t have been driving.”

The judge looked down her nose at the sheet of paper in her hand. “The police report says she stopped after running a red light in excess of ninety miles an hour. A high-speed chase ensued, after he clocked her doing eighty miles an hour in a school zone and she refused to pull over. Counselor?”

Aaron removed his glasses and looked at the judge. “We beg the court’s mercy. My client has no record. She had no alcohol in her system. She passed the drug test. Her father recently passed away, and she’s been under an extreme amount of pressure since then. She’s not a flight risk. We ask for her release and pardon.”

The judge let the paper drop out of her hand and float to the top of her desk. “The pardon, she’s not getting. We’ll release her on fifty thousand dollars bond into your custody.”

Aaron protested, “But, Your Honor—”

“No ‘but’s, Mr. Stern. Work it out with the D.A., or I’ll see you in court a week from Monday. Next case.”

The bailiff motioned for the officer to unlock Leesa’s cuffs. The officer escorted Leesa and Aaron to the records room, where Aaron filled out forms and signed for the responsibility of Leesa until her court date. He put down the pen and faced her. “Don’t miss your court date.”

Leesa rubbed her temples. “Stop talking to me like I’m some lowlife criminal. Don’t do me any favors. I had a bad day. It happens.”

Aaron picked up his attaché case. “You’d better change your attitude. You’re in trouble. I don’t know why you called me; I’m not a criminal attorney. You could have any attorney in town. If you want my help, shut up.”

Leesa frowned. “A criminal? Is that what you think I am?”

Aaron held the door open for her. You’re incredibly naïve for a thirty-two-year-old woman who just spent the night in jail.