Chapter 3 - The Story Ethan Told
Ethan’s version of the family history was very different from the truth.
According to him, Bennett Renovations should already have belonged to him.
He told Ashley that he had modernized the company while Tom resisted every useful idea. He said his father was stubborn, outdated, and secretly jealous of his ambition.
He also claimed the house was his inheritance.
“What difference does it make whether we get it now or in ten years?” he asked.
Ashley agreed.
She had grown tired of pretending their business was successful. Their credit cards were near their limits. The leased luxury car photographed on her social media page was three payments behind. Several suppliers had threatened legal action.
Ethan needed money quickly.
A lender had offered him a business loan, but only if he provided significant collateral.
The Bennett house was worth nearly nine hundred thousand dollars.
It had no mortgage.
To Ethan, it seemed irrational that such valuable property should sit unused while his company collapsed.
He began telling potential investors that the house belonged to him.
He hosted a meeting in Tom’s study while his parents were at a medical appointment. Ashley served coffee on Linda’s white designer plates and described the house as their “long-term family residence.”
One investor asked why the deed still showed Thomas and Linda Bennett as owners.
Ethan smiled.
“The transfer is being finalized.”
That evening, Linda found a stranger’s business card beside the sofa.
“Who is Daniel Mercer?” she asked.
“A possible client,” Ethan replied.
“For what?”
“A renovation.”
Linda looked around the room.
“He came here to discuss someone else’s renovation?”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“Do you question every person who enters the house?”
“It is my house.”
The words escaped before Linda could soften them.
Silence fell across the room.
Ashley stared at her.
Ethan gave a humorless laugh.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The reminder. Every day, you remind us that we own nothing.”
Linda felt ashamed, though she had done nothing wrong.
“That isn’t what I meant.”
“It is exactly what you meant.”
Tom entered from the hallway.
“What’s happening?”
“Mom wants us to remember we’re charity cases.”
“I never said that,” Linda protested.
Tom looked at Ethan.
“Then don’t put words in her mouth.”
Ethan stood.
“One day, you’ll realize you pushed away the only person willing to take care of you.”
He walked upstairs, and Ashley followed.
Linda remained beside the table, holding the business card.
That night, she cried in bed.
Tom lay awake beside her.
The next morning, he drove to Bennett Renovations earlier than usual. He asked the office manager to print a record of every file Ethan had accessed during the previous six months.
Most were harmless.
Marketing lists. Project photographs. Supplier contacts.
One file was not.
Three weeks earlier, Ethan had opened a scanned copy of the Bennett Family Trust.
The trust held the house.
Ethan had viewed it seven times.
Tom printed the access log and placed it inside his briefcase.
May you like
He said nothing to Linda.
Not yet.
