Chapter 8 - Ryan’s Debt
Ryan spent Christmas night at his mother’s house.
By noon the following day, Linda was no longer smug.
She stood in her kitchen while Ryan poured bourbon into a coffee mug.
“Tell me exactly how bad it is.”
He drank.
“Bad.”
“That is not an answer.”
Ryan slammed the mug down.
“Three development loans are cross-collateralized against the Hayes property.”
Linda’s face changed.
“You said the transfer was almost done.”
“It was.”
“Then why wasn’t it?”
“Because Thomas Hayes buried protections inside a trust nobody told me about.”
“You had the title report.”
“The title report looked clean.”
“You paid sixty thousand dollars for that legal review.”
“I know what I paid.”
Linda paced.
“What happens if the property can’t be used?”
Ryan said nothing.
She stopped.
“What happens?”
“The North Briarwood project collapses.”
“How much?”
“Eleven point eight million.”
Linda gripped the counter.
“You borrowed nearly twelve million dollars based on a house you do not own?”
“Not the house.”
“What then?”
“The land.”
Linda stared.
Margaret’s house sat on just under nine acres.
Most of it was wooded.
A developer had attempted to buy neighboring parcels for years.
Linda finally understood.
“You planned to tear it down.”
Ryan did not respond.
She slapped him.
He slowly turned back.
“You idiot.”
Ryan’s expression became dangerous.
Linda did not care.
“You told me the development company wanted two acres.”
“The project changed.”
“To what?”
“Luxury residential.”
“How many homes?”
“Thirty-two.”
Linda stared at him.
“You planned to bulldoze Margaret’s entire property.”
Ryan poured more bourbon.
“She would have been relocated.”
“Where?”
“A condo.”
Linda laughed in disbelief.
“You threw the woman out of her own Christmas dinner before you even owned the land.”
Ryan glared.
“You were sitting in her chair.”
“I thought the deed was ours.”
Ryan turned away.
Linda lowered her voice.
“Who told you about the basement?”
Ryan’s hand stopped.
“Who said anything about a basement?”
“Don’t insult me.”
Ryan drank.
Linda stepped closer.
“You were down there twice last month.”
He said nothing.
“You moved the wine rack.”
Still nothing.
“Ryan.”
He turned.
“A man contacted me.”
“What man?”
“I don’t know his real name.”
Linda stared.
“He said there were documents hidden inside the house proving Margaret did not legally control the land.”
“When?”
“Four months ago.”
“And you believed him?”
“He knew things.”
“What things?”
“Thomas Hayes’s trust language.”
Linda’s face tightened.
“Who was he?”
Ryan pulled out his phone.
He opened a photograph.
It showed a man walking away from a coffee shop.
Late sixties.
Gray hair.
Tall.
Linda stared.
“Who took this?”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Insurance.”
Linda zoomed in.
Then she froze.
Ryan noticed.
“You know him.”
“No.”
“Yes, you do.”
Linda handed the phone back too quickly.
“I’ve never seen him.”
Ryan grabbed her wrist.
“Mom.”
“Let go.”
“You know him.”
Linda stared at her son.
Then whispered, “I saw him once.”
“Where?”
Her voice became barely audible.
“Your father’s funeral.”
Ryan frowned.
His father, Charles Caldwell, had died nine years earlier.
“Who is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Bullshit.”
Linda pulled free.
“He stood across the cemetery. He didn’t come near me.”
“Why do you remember?”
“Because your father had a photograph of him.”
Ryan stopped.
“What photograph?”
Linda looked toward the hallway.
“Charles kept it hidden in his desk.”
“Where is it?”
“I burned it.”
Ryan stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because your father told me to.”
Ryan’s phone buzzed.
Unknown sender.
One message.
HAVE THEY OPENED THE WALL?
Ryan typed:
YES.
Three dots appeared.
Then another message.
DID THEY FIND THE TAPE?
Ryan hesitated.
He did not know.
He typed:
MAYBE.
The reply came immediately.
THEN YOU ARE OUT OF TIME.
Linda watched his face.
“What?”
Ryan did not answer.
Another message appeared.
GET EMILY’S LETTER.
Then:
BEFORE MARGARET REMEMBERS WHAT DANIEL GAVE HER.
Ryan frowned.
“What did Daniel give Margaret?”
Linda’s wineglass slipped from her hand.
It shattered on the tile.
Ryan looked at her.
His mother had gone white.
“You know.”
Linda shook her head.
May you like
“What did Daniel give her?”
Linda whispered, “A key.”
