Page 111 of Breakout
“You stupid cunt. You don’t know when to stop, do you? I warned you,” someone rants.
“Uh, ma’am, I think you have the wrong number.” I shake my head, caught off guard by her ranting.
“I don’t have the wrong number, Peyton. Now go to your lawyer and sign everything over before it’s too late.”
“Janis?” I say as the puzzle pieces start to click into place.
“Who else would it be?” she snaps.
“You aren’t supposed to be contacting me. Any communication is supposed to go through our lawyers,” I remind her.
“Trust me, sweetheart, the last thing I want to do is communicate with you. Now walk away. You’ve never been an Anderson, and you don’t deserve our family fortune.”
I shake my head in disbelief. When I found out that my grandfather was alive and never took me in, I was angry. Hell, a part of me still is, but the more I learn about my cousin and the drama she’s brought into my life, the more I understand.
Maybe in Matthias’s own way, he was trying to save me from her brand of crazy.
“Hate to break it to you, Janis, but Matthias didn’t think you deserved it and that I did.”
“He was a senile old man, and I’ll prove it if it’s the last thing I do. One way or another, I’ll get what I want, and I don’t care if I have to take you out to achieve that.”
Blowing out a breath, I pull the phone away from my ear and disconnect the call.
Jesus Christ.
If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Here I thought everything was starting to finally go smoothly. Beckett and I made it through the drama of his dad finding out and trying to buy me off. I figured we would have a little more time before shit hit the proverbial fan again, but apparently I was wrong.
I scroll through my contacts and hit call.
“Piper & Sons Law Office, this is Mary speaking. How can I help you?” a sweet voice answers.
“Hey, Mary, it’s Peyton Anderson-Hayes. I was hoping I could speak to Mr. Piper.”
“Peyton, dear! How are you? Is everything okay? You sound shaken.”
“I actually just got off the phone with Janis,” I tell her.
“Oh no, give me one minute to fill Mr. Piper in, and I’ll transfer the call. You just stay on the line, okay?”
“Will do,” I say as I smile.
I don’t know what it is about that woman, but she somehow reminds me that there are good people in the world. She’s just so sweet. Always.
“Peyton, are you okay?” Mr. Piper says as soon as he picks up.
“I mean, I’ve been better,” I quip, making him chuckle.
“I’m sure you have, child. I’m sure you have. Now tell me, what did Janis say?”
I quickly give him the full rundown of what she said, and he sighs.
“That girl really doesn’t know how to quit, does she?”
“If I had to guess, she’s never heard the word ‘no’ until now.”
“Knowing her parents, you’re probably right. I wish we could get her threats on record, but we can’t.”
“Actually, she left me two voicemails. I know we are a two-party consent state when it comes to recordings, but does that count for voicemails?”
