Chapter 7 - The Gun in the Hallway
Owen moved in front of Judith.
Bryce raised the pistol.
“Don’t.”
Owen stopped.
Tessa’s body camera continued recording beneath her jacket.
She forced herself to remain calm.
“You said you were at Judge Mercer’s house.”
Bryce smiled.
“Mother says many things.”
Judith looked terrified.
“You made me hear your car leave.”
“Kendra drove away.”
“I stayed.”
Tessa understood.
It had been a trap.
Bryce had allowed Judith to move through the house.
He wanted her to reveal the hiding place.
“Give me the box,” he said.
Tessa held it tightly.
“You already have the house.”
“What else do you need?”
“The original documents.”
“These are copies.”
“And the letter?”
Bryce’s eyes shifted toward the paper in her hand.
“That belongs to me.”
“It has my name on it.”
“Dad wrote a lot of nonsense near the end.”
“He knew you were stealing.”
Bryce’s face hardened.
“He suspected.”
“He was wrong.”
Tessa lifted a forged check.
“Then explain this.”
Bryce’s voice remained cold.
“You think charity money is clean?”
“You think those board members cared about children?”
“They cared about photographs.”
“They cared about dinners.”
“They cared about having their names engraved on buildings.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to steal.”
“I kept the trust alive.”
“I paid people.”
“I solved problems.”
“You bought a lake house.”
Bryce’s eyes flashed.
“You have no idea what I sacrificed.”
Judith began crying.
“You stole from your father.”
Bryce looked at her.
“You gave Tessa everything.”
Tessa stared at him.
“What are you talking about?”
Bryce laughed bitterly.
“She always got the praise.”
“She got the scholarships.”
“She left.”
“I stayed.”
“I handled Dad’s illness.”
“I handled your panic.”
“I built a career while this family expected me to fix every disaster.”
Judith shook her head.
“We loved you.”
“You used me.”
His voice cracked for the first time.
Then it hardened again.
“And when Dad died, he still left control of the trust split between us.”
Tessa frowned.
“No.”
“I was never told that.”
“Exactly.”
Bryce looked at Judith.
“Because she hid the amendment.”
Judith’s face went pale.
Tessa turned.
“Mom?”
Judith closed her eyes.
“Your father changed the trust.”
“He named both of you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Bryce begged me.”
“He said the board would remove him.”
“He said he only needed time to correct the accounts.”
Tessa felt betrayed.
“You knew?”
“I knew about some money.”
“Not all of it.”
“You let him continue.”
“I thought I was protecting my son.”
Bryce laughed.
“You protected yourself.”
“You didn’t want the town to know your perfect family was rotten.”
Judith began to collapse.
Owen held her upright.
Tessa looked at Bryce.
“Put the gun down.”
“You can still stop this.”
“No.”
Bryce stepped closer.
“You are going to give me the box.”
“Then you are going to leave town.”
“And Mom is going to sign a statement saying she imagined everything.”
“She won’t.”
Bryce pointed the gun at Judith.
“She will.”
Tessa’s fear became rage.
“You would shoot your own mother?”
Bryce’s hand trembled.
“I don’t want to.”
Judith looked at him with tears on her face.
“You already destroyed me.”
A floorboard creaked behind Bryce.
Kendra appeared.
She held a heavy brass lamp.
For one instant, Tessa thought she might strike Bryce.
Instead, Kendra swung the lamp into Owen’s shoulder.
He crashed against the wall.
Judith screamed.
Bryce grabbed the cash box from Tessa.
Tessa fought him.
The pistol went off.
The explosion filled the room.
Plaster burst from the ceiling.
Owen tackled Bryce.
The gun slid across the floor.
Kendra dove for it.
Tessa reached it first.
She kicked it beneath the sewing cabinet.
Bryce struck Owen in the face.
Owen fell.
Tessa pulled Judith toward the door.
Kendra blocked them.
“You are not ruining our lives.”
“You ruined them yourselves.”
Kendra grabbed Tessa’s hair.
Tessa drove her shoulder into Kendra’s stomach.
They hit the wall.
A framed photograph crashed beside them.
Bryce recovered the cash box.
He ran into the hallway.
Tessa broke free and chased him.
Bryce reached the staircase.
Then every light in the house went out.
Darkness swallowed the hallway.
A voice came from below.
“Fairhaven Police.”
“Drop the box.”
Officer Ruiz stood at the bottom of the stairs.
Her weapon was drawn.
Bryce froze.
For one second, Tessa believed it was over.
Then Deputy Pike stepped from behind Ruiz.
May you like
He pressed his gun against her back.
“Give me the camera,” he said.
