Mr. Woo continued speaking, while my head was spinning. There had to be a way around this. I turned to my lawyers for some direction.
His lips continued to move, but I couldn’t process another word. “In the event the Trustees and the eldest male relative come to an impasse, the final decision-making power rests solely with the eldest male relative.
My lead attorney spoke up. “What happens in the event there are no male relatives still living or is considered incompetent?”
I glanced from my attorney to Mr. Woo. “Right. The eldest male living relative is my grandfather. He’s ninety-six years old, is not in his right mind and lives in a nursing home. The only other male in the Lee-Xiou family was my cousin, Joseph. Unfortunately, he died the day before my father.”
“How . . . convenient.” Mr. Woo uttered his snide remark underneath his breath.
I narrowed my eyes to slits. I was tired of dealing with that stupid little twerp, and what little patience I had vanished five minutes after walking into the room. “You forget your place, Mr. Woo. It would be in your best interest to remember; I am the daughter of Chang Lee-Xiou. Some things don’t fall too far from the tree. You might want to simply answer the question.”
My lawyer stepped into the conversation before things got too out of control. “What happens in the event there aren’t any competent and living male relatives?”
It was evident Mr. Woo didn’t want to answer. That in and of itself made my heart rate calm just a bit.
“In the event there are no competent living male relatives, all assets within the Lee-Xiou Trust will transfer to Chang’s living children. They would be afforded the same rights and privileges as any male relative.”
Relieved, I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms underneath my breasts. “That means I would have full control over my father’s assets?”
“Woo and Associates would co-manage them.”
I ran my finger down the page again. “Excuse me? It says right here that in the event there was an impasse between your Law firm and me, since there are no other competent and living relatives, I would have sole decision-making authority.”
He was slow to respond. “Yes, that is correct.”
“Good. I’m glad we cleared that up. Let’s get these papers signed.” I checked my watch. “I don’t have all day to deal with this.” Another man trying to play me. He knew full well that I had one hundred percent discretion when it came to the financial affairs of the Lee-Xiou Trust.
“Several items will need your signature.”
Frustrated couldn’t begin to describe my mood. “Didn’t I just say that?” I turned to my lawyers. “I did just say that right? Am I talking to hear myself talk? If not, then pass me the papers!”
Mr. Woo placed legal documents about a half an inch high in front of me. “I’ll need you to sign in every place that is highlighted in yellow. Once we have your signature, we can begin the transfer of assets into your name.”
I leaned forward and picked up a pen so I could start signing. Just as I was about to touch the tip of it onto the first dotted line, I heard the door to Mr. Woo’s office swing open. I couldn’t see who had the nerve to interrupt this meeting at a time like this because my back was to them.
“Excuse me, Mr. Woo?” A woman’s high-pitched voice echoed throughout the room.
This time, he was unable to reign in his tightly controlled temper. “Lucy, if whatever reason you’re interrupting is not a life or death situation, do not disturb me.”
“I would say this is a life and death situation.”
I froze holding my pen in mid-air.
That voice. I knew that voice, and it wasn’t whoever the hell Lucy was.
It couldn’t be? Am I hearing dead people talk? I’ve got to be losing my mind.
Slowly, I turned half-way around afraid of what would be there. I had seen and done a lot so nothing should surprise me, but this time I was shook all the way down to my bones. If I had been standing, I would have fallen down. There was no way my legs would support me.
When I finally turned all the way around, a ghost had risen from the dead and stood directly in front of me.
Chapter 8
There was no oxygen in the room. The air had been completely sucked out of it. There wasn’t a person whose mouth hadn’t dropped to the floor, or whose eyes weren’t bulging out of their heads.
I couldn’t breathe. I was good at masking my emotions most of the time, but this was some made for television madness. I’d have to be superhuman for the shock not to show on my face. My mouth felt like cotton. It should since it had been open from the moment I heard that voice. I managed to utter the first thing that came to my mind. “You’re not real.” Was I dreaming? Was this a hallucination? I wasn’t sure if I could find my heartbeat let alone my voice, but somehow I managed. “You’re dead. I saw them put you in the ground.”
“That was my intention. Obviously, it wasn’t me because I’m standing right here in front of you.”
I was on autopilot as I stood up from the chair. I needed to determine if my eyes were deceiving me. I looked around the room as I inched closer and closer. If this was some kind of paranormal event at least I wasn’t the
