Chapter 2 - What Else Did You Sign?
Marlene turned on Everett.
“Stop talking.”
Gabriel looked between them.
“How many more?”
His mother reached for the letter.
He stepped back.
“Don’t.”
For fifteen years, Gabriel had negotiated contracts with people who smiled while trying to take things from him.
He had never expected to need that same caution in his kitchen.
Everett rubbed his mouth.
“We were going to straighten it out.”
“What were you going to straighten out?”
“Your father’s confused,” Marlene interrupted.
“He seemed pretty clear.”
Upstairs, a floorboard creaked.
All three looked toward the ceiling.
Gabriel lowered his voice.
“You’re leaving tonight.”
Marlene laughed once.
“This is our home.”
“This is my house. You moved in to help after Nora died.”
“And who kept it running?”
“Apparently my daughter.”
Marlene’s expression hardened.
“You have no idea how difficult that child can be.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“Finish that sentence carefully.”
Everett took his wife’s elbow.
“Pack a bag.”
She pulled away.
“You’re letting him do this?”
“I’m telling you to pack.”
Gabriel called his sister, Rachel.
Her sons had been staying with their grandparents during her nursing shifts.
“Come get the boys.”
“What happened?”
“Something serious. They’re safe. I need you here.”
While he waited, Gabriel photographed the letter and authorization.
Then he called Westbridge’s after-hours number, reported suspected fraud, and asked that any new requests be flagged for urgent review.
He kept the original pages with him.
Marlene watched from the hallway.
“You’re really going to destroy this family over a piece of paper?”
“No. I’m finding out what you did with it.”
Rachel arrived in scrubs.
Bryce came downstairs carrying Theo’s backpack.
Neither boy asked why they were leaving.
That bothered Gabriel almost as much as their silence at dinner.
Rachel listened while Gabriel explained the floor and the letter.
Her face tightened.
“Mom?”
“Your brother’s having an episode.”
Gabriel held out his phone.
Rachel read the photograph.
“Why is his signature on this?”
Marlene grabbed her coat.
“I won’t stand here and be interrogated.”
Everett carried their overnight bags to the car.
Before following him, Marlene looked toward the stairs.
“Amelia needs consistency.”
Gabriel opened the front door.
“She’s going to get it.”
After everyone left, he checked every downstairs lock.
Then he found Amelia standing outside her bedroom, holding the music box.
“Is Grandma mad at me?”
“No.”
“Because of the letter?”
He stopped.
“What letter, sweetheart?”
May you like
She swallowed.
“The ones I wasn’t supposed to let you see.”
