Mr. Tarkin removes his glasses and pinches his nose, clearly relieved that he got through that.

“This is preposterous. How do I know that letter wasn’t forged?”

“We have a record of two witnesses watching him write it as well as the document being notarized. It’s truly from him.” He glances down at his watch. “And I’m sorry to have to run, but I was told to deliver this message and leave. Myla, any questions you might have regarding your father’s estate, please feel free to contact me, but this is all you will need.” He slides me a thick envelope. “Mrs. Moore, I am sorry to say, but you have thirty days to vacate the premises. Any damages to the property before leaving must be fixed by you or an outside contractor. If you would like to dispute this, please feel free to find your own attorney, but I will say this, you will not win in court. Good luck to both of you.”

And then Mr. Tarkin is out of his chair and out of the conference room, shutting the door behind him.

The moment the door clicks shut, Mom turns her fury on me. “You made him do this, didn’t you?”

“What? No.” I shake my head.

“He changed this a year ago? That’s just around the time that you started visiting us again. This is your way of getting back at me. This is how you treat the one constant in your life? I always knew you were a selfish whore, but—”

“Enough,” Ryot says, slamming his fist on the table, startling us both. His back tense, muscles in his arms firing as he leans his hands on the table and stares my mother down. “Once again, I will not sit here and listen to you berate my girlfriend because it makes you feel better. It’s time to come to terms with the facts, Verna, and the fact of the matter is, you’re an absolute piece of shit. You have convinced yourself that you are the victim in your life when in reality, you’re the monster. This woman, sitting right next to me, the woman I love, she’s not a product of you, nor your late husband. She’s a product of what not to be. She is proof that good can come from evil. She has a heart, she has a soul, and she has several caring bones in her body. And despite the uphill climb her childhood was, she has prevailed, and I will be damned if I ever see you near her again.” Ryot takes my hand and pulls me up from the chair. “If I hear at any point that you contact her, or even go near her, you will have me to answer to, as well as the cops. Assault and battery won’t look good on that precious, squeaky-clean image you attempt to portray. Oh, and we have witnesses and pictures. Stay the fuck away from my girl.”

And with that, he guides me toward the door and out of the office, leaving me and my mom in an absolute state of shock.