Chapter 3 - WHAT MY FATHER PLANNED
Dad said the gasoline was for his lawn mower.
At two in the morning.
In October.
Inside the trunk of a car parked behind my bakery.
Nobody believed him.
Especially after police found a box of disposable gloves, two bottles of lighter fluid, and an old towel beside it.
My stomach turned when Officer Ruiz told me.
“You think they were going to burn it?”
“We’re investigating that possibility.”
Possibility.
I hated that word.
The broken bakery around me didn't feel possible.
It felt deliberate.
I stayed until sunrise while technicians photographed everything.
At 6:40, Jasmine arrived.
She walked through the door, saw the damage, and covered her mouth.
“Oh my God.”
I was standing beside Grandma’s broken recipe box.
Jasmine hugged me.
That was when I finally cried.
Not when Dad smashed the glass.
Not when Mom searched my office.
Not even when I heard them talking about Grandma.
It was when somebody kind touched my shoulder.
“They destroyed everything,” I whispered.
“No,” Jasmine said.
I looked around.
“Feels pretty destroyed.”
She picked up one of Grandma’s recipe cards.
The corner was torn.
“Everything that matters isn't glass.”
I wanted to believe her.
Then my phone rang.
It was Melissa.
I stared at the screen.
Jasmine said, “Don’t.”
But I answered.
“What?”
Melissa was crying.
“Hannah, you have to tell the police this was a family disagreement.”
“You poured flour into my computer.”
“I was angry.”
“You destroyed Grandma’s recipe box.”
“I didn't mean—”
“You broke into my business at two in the morning.”
“Dad said you had documents that belonged to us!”
“Which documents?”
Silence.
I lowered my voice.
“The ones about Silver Pine?”
She stopped crying.
That told me everything.
“What is Silver Pine, Melissa?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why did you stop crying?”
“Hannah…”
“Was your surgery fake?”
Another silence.
I closed my eyes.
“Answer me.”
“I had back pain.”
“That wasn't my question.”
“I needed money.”
“For what?”
“You always think you’re better than me.”
I almost laughed.
“You committed fraud and broke into my bakery, and somehow this is about my attitude?”
“You got everything!”
“What did I get?”
“Grandma loved you more!”
The words landed hard.
Melissa continued.
“She gave you the recipes. She helped you start the bakery. Every time I walked into her house, all she talked about was how responsible Hannah was.”
“So this is revenge?”
“No!”
“Then what happened to the eighty-six thousand dollars?”
Her voice dropped.
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because Dad will kill me.”
I went still.
Jasmine looked at me.
“What did you say?”
Melissa breathed shakily into the phone.
Then she whispered.
“The bakery money wasn't for me.”
“Who was it for?”
“Hannah, listen to me. Dad owes people money.”
“How much?”
“I don't know.”
“Who?”
“I said I don't know!”
A door slammed on her end.
Melissa gasped.
Then a man’s voice shouted from somewhere nearby.
“Who are you talking to?”
My father.
Melissa whispered one sentence.
May you like
“Check Grandma’s old storage unit before Dad does.”
The line went dead.
