Slowly, Ariana crept down the short hall, assuming the bedroom would be at the very end. On her way she passed by the open door to an office and paused. Sitting in the middle of the desk were two sets of legal-size papers. One was flagged with pink Post-its indicating places to sign. The temptation was too great. With a quick glance at the bedroom door, Ariana turned and stepped into the office.
Positioned on the west side of the house with the blinds drawn, the room was dimly lit. Ariana's eyes adjusted quickly as she picked up the papers and quickly scanned their contents. It was a will. Grandma Covington's will. Both a new version and an old. Ariana scanned the pages to find what had changed. Her eyes fell on Kaitlynn's name in the old version and her heart stood still. Grandma Covington had set aside two million dollars for Kaitlynn Nottingham.
178
Palms sweating, Ariana quickly scanned the new version.
"She's removing Kaitlynn from her will," Ariana whispered to herself. After the fond manner in which Kaitlynn had spoken about Grandma Covington, Ariana wasn't surprised that Kaitlynn had once been in her will. But Kaitlynn had been convicted of killing Grandma Covington's son more than two years ago. Why had the woman waited this long to take Kaitlynn out?
Suddenly Ariana felt a rush of realization. Maybe Grandma Covington hadn't believed that Kaitlynn was guilty. Maybe she had been hoping that her adopted granddaughter would be released. But since Kaitlynn had lost her chance at an appeal...
It all made sense. Suddenly, Ariana found a soft spot for the old woman growing inside her chest. This lady loved Kaitlynn just like Ariana did. How could Ariana murder the only other person in the world who cared about Kaitlynn?
She couldn't. It was as simple as that. Ariana breathed in and felt her mind start to clear. Once again she had let herself come far too close to the abyss. Once again she had been saved.
Ariana was just turning to go when she heard a whir and a creak. Her heart hit her throat and she made a move for the sliding glass door, but it was too late. Grandma Covington wheeled her way into the room and paused near the door.
This was it. The jig was up. Unless...
Ariana felt her hand close around the slim gold stand on the library lamp in front of her. She could still do it. If she had to.
"Briana Leigh?" Grandma Covington squinted in the darkness.
179
She wasn't wearing her glasses. "Is that you? What are you doing in my office?"
Ariana's grip loosened. She took a deep breath. Grandma Covington and her shoddy vision had just given her an easy out.
"Just looking for a pen, Grandma," Ariana said, perfectly mimicking Briana Leigh's slight Texan drawl. "I'll see you at breakfast."
Then, before the woman could question her further, Ariana slipped out the back door and onto the patio. She paused for a moment to collect herself, then shook her hair back and strolled toward the main house.
Kaitlynn would have been proud of her, she knew. Proud--and grateful. But that didn't change the fact that Ariana was screwed.
180
WASTED
Ariana watched from one of the extra bedroom windows as Teo picked up Briana Leigh in his Hummer later that morning. She wondered what Briana Leigh had said to him, if anything, about the confrontation with her grandmother. Was she the type of girl to keep it to herself and hope that it would go away, or would she get all dramatic and weepy and tell Teo everything?She had a feeling it was the latter.
The second the roar of the engine had faded in the distance, Ariana grabbed her purse and headed downstairs. She snagged the keys to the Cadillac off the hook inside the mudroom and walked to the garage, where several choice autos were kept waxed and buffed and ready to go.
Ariana paused for a moment, wishing she knew more about cars. Which of these rides would be worth the most on the open market? The Bentley? The Ferrari? The vintage 'Vette? But even if she could
181
somehow figure that out, she wasn't exactly versed in grand theft auto. She wouldn't have had a clue where to sell a car if she'd stolen one. And she had a feeling cars were easily traceable. Annoyed at her own naivete, she got behind the wheel of the Caddy and zoomed out onto the driveway.
There was one thing she did know about, and that was fashion. Today she was going to utilize that expertise without Briana Leigh breathing down her neck. If ever there was a day for retail therapy, this was it.
On the way back to the Plaza of the Americas, Ariana cranked up the radio and tried to enjoy the feeling of the wind in her hair. She was going to have a little fun while she could, because in a couple of weeks, when Briana Leigh went off to Atherton-Pryce, Ariana was going to be homeless and broke. No more cars, no more mansion, no more three square meals a day. Unless she figured out a plan B, this could be the last time she would ever be this free.
At the plaza, Ariana parked the car and strode right to the first boutique she and Briana Leigh had hit a few days before. She had chosen the most understated outfit she could put together from the garments Briana Leigh had bought for her--an eggplant A-line skirt with a sleeveless ruffle-front blouse and bronze gladiator sandals. Altogether she'd felt almost presentable, but still not quite comfortable. As soon as she walked through the door of the boutique, she selected all the things Briana Leigh had refused to let her try on. She brought the whole armful back to one of the brightly lit dressing rooms and closed the door behind her.
182
"No one has told me what to wear since I was four years old," Ariana muttered to herself, stripping off the Briana Leigh wardrobe and tossing it on the floor.