As if in the blink of an eye, 2030 had arrived. In the months that followed, Butters was sworn in as the new mayor of New York City, Central Park was beginning the process of being restored to its former glory, and the Brandenham Hotel was adjusting to being under new management. Despite Kayla's idealism, however, the Brandenham Hotel was struggling to thrive without Bitsy. Despite the initial boom in business, this quickly waned away when the controversies surrounding Bitsy started becoming public knowledge. Suddenly, people weren't so keen to stay somewhere where conspiracies to commit crimes were made.

Despite the growing controversies looming around the hotel, Kayla was still determined to help Helen run it successfully. She wasn't sure how, but she knew she had to find a way to make the Brandenham Hotel appealing again. She brainstormed ways to make the hotel more attractive to customers, from improving the customer service to offering more amenities. She also began to look for ways to draw attention to the hotel, such as through advertising and social media campaigns. For a while, they worked... but none of that would prepare them for what was to come. By June, the Brandenham's financial situation was dire. Hardly anyone wanted to stay there anymore. With very little options left, Helen decided that only one would work out in the long run...

"Kayla, I think it's time we sold the Brandenham," Helen decided one night while she and Kayla sat up in bed.

Kayla was taken aback and had to put down her paperback copy of "Cupcake Crush" for a second. "What? Sell the Brandenham?"

"That's what I said."

"Helen, I don't know if we want to do that. We can still save it! I mean, think about the employees we'll have to let go!"

Helen sighed and pinched the skin on the bridge of her nose. "Listen, I get it. I really do. But at the same time, we're looking at thousands of dollars in debt and possibly bankruptcy if we don't do something."

"Well, why can't we just use the inheritance Bitsy left us? You haven't touched it in months. It could easily solve our problems!"

"As much as I want to... I can't." Helen covered her face with her hands and seemed as though she was on the verge of tears. "I just can't. I can't even bear to look at it." She shook her head. "It's too painful. I just can't do it."

Kayla's face dropped. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you like that." She put a hand on Helen's shoulder. "It's okay. You don't need to use our inheritance if it's too hard for you to do so."

"Thank you..."

"Are you sure you want to sell the Brandenham, though?"

"Absolutely. If there was ever an out for us that didn't involve a suicide pact, this would be it... and this is it."

Kayla took a deep breath. "Alright, if you really think so, then we'll do it."


Helen and Kayla proceeded to contact Hilton Worldwide with an offer to sell them the Brandenham Hotel as a potential chain they could profit off of. This was largely Helen's way of expressing gratitude to them for treating her so nicely when she worked at the Hampton Inn in Washington D.C. all those years ago. After all, it only seemed fair. Hilton Worldwide was intrigued by the offer and decided to pursue the deal. After a few months of negotiations, the deal went through, much to Helen's relief.

Unfortunately, as relieved as Helen was, she was also nervous by how all the current employees of the Brandenham Hotel would react to this news. Helen knew that the transition would be difficult and that she had to be prepared for a lot of resistance. She and Kayla gathered all of the Brandenham staff for a meeting in order to break the news to them.

"Everyone, Kayla and I have an announcement to make," Helen began. "I know not all of you will agree with what we're about to tell you, so I'll let Kayla take things from here."

Beads of sweat starting rolling down Luka's temple. "Uh, what the heck is going on here? Are we being let go?"

Kayla held her hands up defensively. "No, no, no. Just the opposite, actually. All of you will be staying on, albeit under new management."

Now it was Kaidence's turn to speak up. "New management? What do you mean by that?"

Kayla smiled. "Helen and I decided to sell the Brandenham to none other than Hilton Worldwide."

Spinel did a spit-take. "Say what now?"

Kayla laughed. "Yes, you heard me right. We offered to sell the Brandenham to Hilton Worldwide, and they accepted. Oh, and the sale is final."

The employees all had a moment to murmur amongst themselves about the gravity of the news and how they were reacting to it.

Spinel raised a hand. "Hey, I know you said we'll be working under new management, but then... what happens to you guys? Where are you gonna go from there?"

"Ah, Spinel, leave it to you to ask the real hard-hitting questions," Helen said. "You're right, though. We can't stay here. Tell them what we're doing, Kayla."

Kayla sent a glance that was equal parts amused and annoyed her wife's way, then explained, "Well, after Helen had pitched the idea of selling the Brandenham to me, we got to thinking about where we could live afterwards. As most of you know already, Helen is originally from Weehawken, New Jersey, so I suggested that we move there so she could permanently reconnect with her roots. After all, there isn't really anything attaching her to New York anymore."

"That's... nice, I guess," Spinel said. "But what about Shampagne? Are you going to take him with you when you move to Weehawken?"

Helen and Kayla looked at each other uneasily. Oh, right... Shampagne...

"Right..." Kayla trailed off for a second before speaking again. "Well, Helen and I have already bought a luxury apartment within the Weehawken area. Unfortunately, we didn't realize until after we'd bought it that it wasn't pet-friendly."

"So then what happens to Shampagne?" Kaidence asked, somewhat frightened by what could be in store for the little mutt. "He's not going to have to be... you know... right?"

"No, no, of course not! He will, however, have to live with another family who can take care of him."

"Okay... who do you have in mind?"

It only took a few seconds for Kayla to respond. "The Tillermans."

"The Tillermans?" Kaidence tilted her head. "As in Owen Tillerman, that guy who helps take care of Central Park?"

"That's him. I think he and Paige should be the ones to take care of Shampagne during the last years of his life. Alright, meeting adjourned."

Kaidence nodded in agreement. Everyone said their goodbyes and left the room. Soon, Helen and Kayla were alone again.

Kayla breathed a sigh of relief. "God, I thought they'd never leave. I wish we didn't have to lie about our new apartment not being pet-friendly."

Helen smiled. "I know, but we got away with it. It's not right uprooting Shampagne when he needs to mourn over Bitsy like we have. Besides, who better to take care of him than Cole's family? At least this way, he can be with the one person who truly loves him before he dies."

"Yeah. Also, I can't help but get this feeling that our other dogs are going to love Weehawken."

Helen nodded in agreement. "It's a win-win situation, really."