Arianna woke up to a beautiful St. Helena morning. The summers here were so gorgeous. And it felt great coming back to her room. Of course it wasn’t her room; she shared it with Sophie for as long as she remembered. Now, of course, Sophie had her own room, even though this one was kept just as it is. All those posters she had put up when she was a teen still adorned the room’s walls. A worn out journal sat on the dressing table beside a vase of bright red roses.

Arianna smiled. Sophie was so thoughtful; she’d kept roses so that the room would smell fresh. She’s the perfect host, Arianna thought. A Bed and Breakfast here would be perfect, especially in harvest season. But there would be no harvest season this year, and no estate. That realization crushed her. She pushed the comforter out of the way. There was no way she was letting this go without a fight. Something about the whole incident didn’t sit right with her.

Sophie was brewing some coffee when she entered the kitchen. Oreo was sitting in a corner and he trotted over to her chair, hoping for a treat. It was so cute the way he would look with his big brown eyes. It melted Arianna, but she knew Sophie strictly controlled Oreo’s diet and she just laughed.

“Oh, Oreo, I don’t have any treats for you. Look, I’m drinking some coffee,” she said, letting him sniff her morning drink. Oreo wrinkled his nose and decided he didn’t like it and went back to his seat by the window.

“So,” Sophie said, bringing a plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast to the table. Arianna raised her brows. Sophie put her hands up in mock surrender.

“Don’t give me that look, Ana. I just want to know what you’re planning to do.” That was Sophie’s way of keeping tabs on her. Arianna rubbed her forehead. What was she going to do?

“I think I’m going to start from the agreement, the sale, and the loan agreement. I need to be convinced that we’re doing the right thing. And then maybe…” She looked out of the window. The grapevines looked beautiful. She turned and stared at Sophie.

“I know you told me not to interfere, but I don’t know everything about this. I was too young when all this happened. I don’t know what has got you so scared that you’re not getting into this, but I am. I’m going to find a lawyer in St. Helena, or back in Cupertino. I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”

Sophie frowned. “I’m not scared, Ana. You weren’t here to deal with everything, none of you were. I was at home with Mama and Papa when those goons came. I’ve never been so afraid before.” Her eyes flashed terror. She gulped.

“I’ve been trying to get Papa to tell me everything, but it’s not working.” Her face fell. “Do you know how painful it is for me to see the estate being sold off?” Her voice was laced with anger. Her eyes flashed. Arianna shrunk back. This was a side of Sophie she had never seen.

“I’ve been working here for so long, year after year, growing wine, sustaining the business, finding clients. And not because it’s some duty or obligation, but because I want to. I love this, I love my job. It’s tiring, thankless, and I’m penniless at the end of it. None of you wanted this.” She glared at Arianna.

“I put every bit into the business. I’ve not taken a break since the time I took it up. And it’s so hard because it’s the only thing I have. I don’t have a life to go back to. I don’t have a home to go back to. Mama and Papa, well, they will manage at Tina’s, but what about me? Where do I go?” Her anger evaporated and was replaced by pain. Tears filled her eyes and she looked at Arianna.

“Ana, where will I go? You have your own life, Tina is living her life in Anchorage, and Vana, well, I don’t know what Vana is up to these days. I am nobody without this. I’m nobody.” She sobbed.

It was very evident Sophie had been holding all this inside for too long. Arianna hugged her from behind. Sophie continued sobbing.

“And trying to talk to Papa was impossible. He just shut me down. I had to work so hard to convince him to let me run this place, and it was as if all the progress I made had evaporated. Papa treated me like a small child. After all this time, he didn’t think I could do something about this. Don’t you dare tell me I didn’t try,” she said, raw emotion in her voice.

“I’m sorry, Sophie, I’m so sorry,” Arianna said, hugging her and rocking. It was a thing they did when they were children, hugging and rocking. It had always calmed her down, and she hoped it would help Sophie calm down too.

“I’m going to help you. You’re right, I’m not letting this go without a fight either. Papa can think whatever he wants to,” Sophie said, wiping her tears. A determined look passed between the two sisters.

“Soph, how much has been going to this Franco character over the years? Did you not know about this when you were running the accounts? You must have known if a sum kept vanishing every month.” Arianna said, furrowing her brow.

Sophie nodded. “Let’s go to the office. I can look it up. I’ve not had a dedicated payment go to any party I’ve not known about. I did know that Papa had asked me to honor payments on a few contracts when I took it up, but I never looked into them in too much detail.”

They entered the estate’s office. It wasn’t a proper office; her father’s study had been converted into one a long time ago. Sophie had continued to use the office when she took over from her father, and one of the first things she did was introduce computerized accounting and records.

Arianna looked at the books stacked in the bookshelf. They covered every aspect of winemaking and also a fair number of business and hospitality topics. Sophie was really studying everything she could to make this place a success. Sophie typed something and a list flashed on the computer. She beckoned Arianna.

“These are all the parties I’ve made recurring payments to, or the estate has. I can recognize a few of these; they’re some of the vendors I’ve worked with,” Sophie said, striking those names from the list.

Arianna peered into the screen. None of the names sounded suspicious. But perhaps when they scanned agreements that each payment was backed by, they would uncover more clues. She continued scanning the list and the payouts every month.

“Wait a minute, Sophie, here’s something funny. There’s a monthly payout every month to a company called Ezee Securities. Doesn’t Livingston from town manage the estate’s finances and investments? His company isn’t called Ezee Securities,” she said as realization dawned on Sophie’s face.

Arianna stood up and crossed her arms. “I think it is time we get ourselves a lawyer, Sophie. I don’t know about you, but I sure as hell want to know why we pay Ezee Securities a sum of $3,000 a month and why we’ve paid them that sum for the past five years.”

Sophie frowned. How did she never question what her father had told her all these years? Why hadn’t she dug deeper into the accounts?

Arianna could see Sophie’s eyes look away into the distance and knew she was holding herself responsible for all of this. She put her hand on Sophie’s shoulder to break her chain of thoughts.

“You know this town better than I do, Sophie. I need names of lawyers or law firms right now. I’m going to talk to them as soon as possible.”

Sophie nodded and browsed through some magazines. One of the best parts about St. Helena was that it had a book of the residents and the professions they practiced. The idea was that this would help improve business within the town. Everyone would have someone from their hometown to count on if they ever needed it.

There were quite a few names under the Lawyer profession. One of them stuck out to Arianna and she almost stumbled, taking a step back. A name she hadn’t thought of for years was on that page.

Alex Garner. The one who didn’t keep his promises. Her lips thinned. His name brought up painful memories she didn’t want to relive. Especially their last night together. The memory of their broken promises cut her deep, but she knew she could trust Alex with this.

Sophie saw her eyes fixed on one name.

“You’re thinking of talking to Alex, aren’t you?” Arianna blushed.

Sophie nodded. “I’ve heard he’s good. And I’ve heard he’s come back in town for a holiday.” She looked at Arianna, who had gone white.

“I don’t really know what happened with you two. You guys used to date, right?” Arianna just nodded. Sophie bit her lip. Arianna looked lost. Her mind was spinning. The prospect of meeting Alex again was daunting, but so was the prospect of losing her home. Arianna felt stuck. Finally, the desire to save her house trumped the awkwardness of meeting Alex. She searched for his profile on Facebook and saw his brother Mark had tagged him in a photo. She quickly made a decision.

“I’m going to see him, Sophie. I haven’t seen the guy in ten years, but I don’t care if it helps me get the estate back.”

Her phone showed her the date: August 1. The day they had promised to come back to each other.

Ten years later, they were both strangers to each other. And now, on this very day, they were in St. Helena together. Arianna brushed that errant thought. She had an idea about where Alex would be and she grabbed the folder with all the agreements and made her way to town.

“All the best,” Sophie called out. Arianna huffed and walked to her car.

After so many years, the past was calling. And for the first time, Arianna wanted to indulge the past.