She set the computer aside and started to get up when someone knocked on the front door. Changing course, she peered through the lace curtains and sighed.
“Hey, Ash.” She opened the door and stepped back, allowing her twin sister into her living room. “What’s up?”
Ashley’s gaze zeroed in on the discarded laptop and back to Heather. “Did I interrupt your gaming?”
Heather rolled her eyes. “Please tell me you didn’t come across town just to remind me about what a waste of time computer gaming is.”
Ashley went directly to one of the antique wing-backed chairs, tugged on her pencil skirt, and sat. Her sister’s sense of style was opposite of Heather’s. While Heather preferred a more bohemian look, with crushed velvet long skirts and peasant blouses, her sister wore styles that hugged her curves and gave off an aura of power. Daring you to defy her.
She placed her Coach bag on the floor next to the chair and crossed her ankles, displaying her leopard-print Ferragamo pumps. With a sigh, she rested her hand on the arm of the chair, making her new ring impossible to miss. The antique, ancient-looking piece of jewelry was out of place with her fashionable attire. The silver serpent coiled around her sister’s finger, its ruby eyes glaring at Heather.
Her heart stuttered for a second. Heather had seen a similar ring during one of her freelance projects for Department 13. The men who had killed one of David’s informants had been wearing the same ring. They called themselves the Serpent Society, an ancient brotherhood of fanatics trying to earn their way back into the Garden of Eden. As far as Heather knew, they didn’t welcome women into their ranks.
Where had Ashley found it?
When she forced her gaze away from the ring, Ashley arched a perfectly manicured brow. “I came across town because we need to talk.”
Heather wandered back over to the sofa, tucking one foot underneath her as she took a seat, hoping to hide her apprehension. “You could have called.”
She regretted the words the second they left her mouth. Ashley’s shoulders tensed, her lips pressing together into a thin line. Heather smacked herself inwardly. Why did she have such a tough time connecting with her twin? They were supposed to be cosmically bound from birth, but the years had strained the connection until they rarely spoke, and when they did…this was the result. Stilted, forced conversation.
But that ring suggested Ashley might be in mortal danger.
Ashley flipped her dark hair over her shoulder. “I thought I should discuss this with you in person.”
“Okay.” Dread crept up Heather’s spine. She twisted her grandmother’s ring around her finger with her thumb in an attempt to calm her nerves, and suddenly her grandmother’s spirit surrounded her.
“It’s time to sell the house.”
Heather’s jaw dropped. “This house?”
“Yes.” Ashley bent over to retrieve her purse. “I’ve had a lawyer draw up the papers. We’ll split the proceeds fifty-fifty.” She held out an envelope with a well-practiced smile. “You didn’t think I would let you keep this place forever, did you? Do you know what it’s worth?”
Heather didn’t reach for the envelope and didn’t acknowledge her grandmother’s cursing. Ashley couldn’t hear it anyway. She didn’t have the gift.
“You don’t have any claim to this house. Gram left it to me.” Heather shook her head in an effort to find clarity. “Why are you doing this? You’ve never liked this house.”
Ashley ran her tongue across her teeth and tossed the envelope onto the coffee table. “Just look over the documents. This doesn’t have to be ugly or emotional. My lawyer found a loophole in the will. I can sue you, and we can waste time and money, but Flynn Enterprises made us an offer that even you can’t refuse.”
“A loophole?” Heather’s grandmother kept repeating one word. Fight. Heather crossed her arms. “I don’t need to see the offer. I’m not selling.”
Ashley stood up with a dismissive shrug. “You’re not going to have a choice, sis.” She went to the door and glanced back over her shoulder. “I’ll see you in court.”
The click of the door echoed through the silence, magnifying the finality of the moment. It was no secret that Ashley had been hurt by their grandmother’s will. Gram left jewelry and investments to Ashley, but the deed to this house, the heirloom of the Storrey family, was given solely to Heather. That decision hadn’t helped their already strained relationship.
But Heather still hadn’t seen this coming.
After eight years, why now? Ashley didn’t need the money. She’d been a phenom in computer programming and eventually opened her own cyber security company. She had offices in Savannah, Los Angeles, and New York.
Heather didn’t begrudge her sister’s success. Being a medium was never going to pay what her sister was making, but money had never been much of a motivator for her. Over the years, she’d helped police departments, the FBI, and Department 13 solve crimes and bring justice to grieving families. She counseled clients from all over the world. Her work mattered. She could see it in the lightened spirits of the families who sought her help.
She stared at the envelope, wishing it might actually disappear. No such luck. Sighing, she reached for it and withdrew the papers. She set aside the ones on legal letterhead and held up the offer from Flynn Enterprises.
Six million dollars.
She blinked and read the figure again, not quite believing her eyes. The commercial real estate firm in Atlanta had been buying up properties in the historic district of Savannah for some time now, and judging by the figure in the offer, her home was next. She’d be stupid not to take the deal. A fifty-fifty split meant she’d walk away with three million dollars, which was most likely what she could sell
