Chapter 4
"The person you are trying to reach is not available."
Linda called at least twenty times, and every one of them ended in that same recording.
Linda's brother's wife hurried over to calm her down.
"Linda, don't panic. Even if Henry can't get here it doesn't matter. That little bastard Jason is still overseas. The flight alone is over ten hours. There is no way he makes it."
Linda let out half a breath.
Then a manager came running into the room.
"Ms. Stewart, board members, somebody just saw Jason get into a car headed for the hospital. He'll be here in about ten minutes."
The news struck the room like a lightning bolt.
"No way!"
Linda's face went ghostly pale in an instant.
"He's supposed to be overseas. How is he back already?"
In the middle of all of it, I stood quietly at the edge of the room and let myself enjoy it.
Jason had already come home early for a research project at his university, and he had been staying one city over.
In my last life, Linda sat on the news so he wouldn't get a shot at the inheritance.
By the time Jason got there, he was half an hour late.
This time, the second I opened my eyes, I messaged Jason.
Linda yelled, "The amusement park. Get me to the amusement park!"
Linda completely lost it. She grabbed my hair and jerked me toward her.
"You useless piece of trash, you're coming with me. Go get Henry."
My scalp felt like it was tearing, and I didn't fight her. I let her drag me into the car.
At the park entrance, Linda and her pack of relatives were out of the car and charging the gate.
A dozen large men in black stood shoulder to shoulder and stopped them cold.
Leo stood in front of them, enjoying himself.
"Are you blind? Mr. Shenwell booked the whole park tonight. Not a fly gets through."
Linda lunged and grabbed Leo by the collar.
"I'm Henry's mother. Let me in. Tell him that brat is about to take the whole fortune."
Leo shoved her off without a thought.
Linda's heels went out from under her, and she landed hard on the pavement.
"Lady, you're really getting a taste for theater, aren't you?"
Leo stood over Linda, his face dripping with mockery and disdain.
"First, Joanna calls pretending to be a lawyer, and now you show up doing the pity act. You two will try anything to wreck my sister's night with Mr. Shenwell.
"He gave an order. Even if his own mother turns up, she waits outside like everybody else."
Linda was so furious she could barely breathe, her whole body trembling with rage.
She and her relatives rushed the gate and came back within seconds, bloodied and howling.
Linda screamed and cursed and clawed at the iron gate.
Then her knees went, and she dropped in front of Leo and put her forehead on the ground.
"I am begging you. Let me in and get him. If we're late, it is all over."
I leaned against the car and watched the circus, and I could not keep the corner of my mouth down.
Central City Medical Center was already packed with press that had caught the scent.
Cameras were pointed at the door of that hospital room, streaming live to the whole country.
The line on the heart monitor was flattening out.
Just then, the hallway went dead silent.
A tall figure walked through the door.
The moment he stopped moving, the red line went flat.
Charles took a breath and faced dozens of cameras, and he made it official.
"Under the terms of the will, Mr. Jason Shenwell reached this room in time. As of this moment, Jason Shenwell is the sole heir to Shenwell Holdings."
Outside the park gate, Linda heard it come out of the live stream on my phone. Her eyes rolled back and she went down flat on the cold concrete.
At the same moment, I lifted my head.
The Ferris wheel finished its last turn.
Under the last of the falling sparks, Henry came down out of the car holding Lydia's hand, the two of them laughing, glowing.