Chapter 10 - The Contract Vanessa Signed
Daniel caught Robert beside the sedan.
“Where are you going?”
Robert reached for the driver’s door.
“To call my attorney.”
Daniel blocked him.
“Why is your name on that contract?”
“Move.”
“Answer me.”
Robert looked toward the relatives gathered near the house.
“This is not the place.”
“It became the place when you tried to take my mother’s property.”
Robert’s expression hardened.
“Your mother took everything first.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The lake house was built with money from my father.”
“Grandpa was repaid.”
“That’s what Henry told everyone.”
Daniel heard the resentment behind his uncle’s voice.
“You were helping Vanessa forge Mom’s signature.”
Robert stepped closer.
“Be careful what you accuse me of.”
Margaret approached them holding the contract.
“You paid Alder Ridge twenty-five thousand dollars.”
Robert turned.
“That was an investment.”
“In my house?”
“In the renovation.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel was supposed to receive the property.”
Margaret unfolded the page carrying her forged signature.
“Who wrote this?”
Robert looked at Vanessa.
She remained near the porch with Celia.
Daniel followed his gaze.
“Did Vanessa sign Mom’s name?”
“No,” Robert said.
The answer came too quickly.
Margaret noticed.
“You already knew she didn’t.”
Robert’s jaw tightened.
Evelyn stepped out of the crowd.
“Mr. Hale, I recommend that you say nothing further until you have counsel.”
“Then stop interrogating me.”
“I am not interrogating you. I am informing you that the attempted property transfer has been reported.”
Vanessa hurried toward them.
“Reported to whom?”
“The county fraud unit and the title insurer.”
“You had no right.”
Margaret faced her.
“You forged my signature.”
“I did not.”
“Then explain the contract.”
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“I signed a preliminary remodeling agreement. Robert handled the financial section.”
Robert stared at her.
“Vanessa.”
“You told me the title would be transferred before the final payment.”
“You told me Daniel had Margaret’s permission.”
Daniel looked between them.
“You both knew I didn’t own the house.”
Vanessa reached for his arm.
“You said your father wanted you to have it.”
“That isn’t the same as owning it.”
“You acted like it was.”
“I was wrong.”
The admission silenced everyone.
Margaret looked at her son.
Daniel pulled away from Vanessa.
“What private debt?” he asked.
Vanessa’s eyes moved toward the children.
“This should not happen in front of Lily and Noah.”
Margaret turned toward Aunt June.
“Please take them to the garden.”
Lily refused to move.
“I want to know why we can’t go inside.”
Margaret crouched beside her.
“The house belongs to Mr. and Mrs. Mercer now.”
“Where will we sleep?”
“With your parents tonight. You will be safe.”
“Did you sell it because Mom said you weren’t family?”
Vanessa’s face tightened.
“Lily, go with Aunt June.”
The child looked at Margaret.
“I heard her say it.”
Vanessa’s voice rose.
“Now.”
Daniel intervened.
“Do not shout at her.”
Vanessa stared at him.
It was the first time he had openly opposed her in front of the family.
Aunt June led the children toward the lakeside garden.
Once they were out of hearing range, Daniel faced Vanessa again.
“What debt?”
Vanessa glanced at her mother.
Celia looked away.
Robert spoke.
“She invested in a development project.”
Vanessa snapped, “You said it was guaranteed.”
“I said there was manageable risk.”
“How much?” Daniel asked.
No one answered.
“How much?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“Four hundred and eighty thousand.”
Daniel took a step back.
“We don’t have that kind of money.”
“I know.”
“Where did it come from?”
“Private lenders.”
“Using the lake house as security?”
“It was supposed to become ours.”
Daniel looked at the contract.
“You promised my mother’s house to Robert.”
Robert shook his head.
“Not to me personally. The title was going to a holding company.”
“A company you control.”
“That is irrelevant.”
Margaret spoke quietly.
“It is the only relevant fact.”
Evelyn turned to Robert.
“What happens after the holding company receives the house?”
Robert said nothing.
Jonah, who had been reading another page, looked up.
“It would be sold.”
Daniel stared at him.
“What?”
“The contract authorizes immediate resale after transfer.”
“To whom?” Margaret asked.
Jonah examined the small print.
“A company called Blackwater Shores Development.”
Elise’s face changed.
“I know that name.”
Everyone turned toward her.
“They’re building luxury resorts along the northern lakes,” she said. “They demolish existing homes.”
Margaret looked toward the cedar walls Henry had raised with his own hands.
May you like
Vanessa had not merely planned to take the house.
She had promised it to a company that intended to destroy it.
