Chapter 2 - The Empty Chair
The next morning, Claire found a new lock on the pantry door.
Ruth was drinking coffee beside the sink.
“Why is the pantry locked?” Claire asked.
“To stop the boys from wasting food.”
“They have never wasted food.”
“Owen hasn’t.”
The meaning was clear.
Claire held out her hand.
“Give me the key.”
Ruth stirred sugar into her coffee.
“You work all day. You don’t see what happens in this house.”
“I see a lock on my pantry.”
“And I see a child with no discipline.”
Dustin was standing in the hallway.
Claire noticed him before Ruth did.
His face had gone pale.
Claire lowered her voice.
“Give me the key, Ruth.”
Carla entered wearing one of Claire’s robes.
“What’s all the shouting about?”
“Your mother locked my son out of the pantry.”
Carla yawned.
“Maybe Dustin should learn that snacks aren’t free.”
Claire turned to her.
“You are staying here without paying rent. You have used my car twice, ordered food on my account, and taken over two rooms. Do not lecture my son about what is free.”
Carla’s face hardened.
Ruth placed the pantry key on the counter.
“There. Are you satisfied?”
“No.”
Claire unlocked the pantry and removed the lock.
Then she knelt in front of Dustin.
“You may eat whenever you are hungry. You do not need to ask anyone.”
Dustin nodded.
Owen appeared behind his mother.
He held a wrapped cereal bar in his hand.
Without speaking, he offered it to Dustin.
Carla slapped the bar from his fingers.
“Don’t encourage him.”
The cereal bar hit the floor.
Owen stared at his mother.
Claire picked it up.
“You will not treat either child that way in my house.”
Carla gave a humorless laugh.
“You keep saying your house.”
“Because it is.”
“Michael lives here too.”
“Yes.”
“So it belongs to him as much as it belongs to you.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
The answer came from the kitchen doorway.
Naomi Wells stood there holding a leather folder.
Claire had forgotten that she had invited the attorney to review the papers in person.
Naomi was in her early fifties, calm and sharp-eyed, with a manner that made even confident people reconsider their words.
She looked at Carla.
“Bellweather House is Claire’s separate inherited property. Michael has no ownership interest.”
Carla folded her arms.
“That can be changed.”
“Only with Claire’s voluntary and informed consent.”
Ruth’s hand tightened around her coffee mug.
Naomi noticed.
She followed Claire into Henry’s study and closed the door.
“The Northbridge document is worse than I thought,” Naomi said.
She opened the folder.
“It does not simply add Michael to the deed. It places the house inside a private holding company.”
“Who owns the company?”
“That information is hidden behind another trust.”
“Can you find out?”
“I have requested the records.”
Claire looked at the papers.
“Michael said it would protect the house.”
“It would protect whoever controls Northbridge.”
Naomi pointed to a paragraph printed in smaller text.
“This provision allows the manager to sell or borrow against the property without your additional approval.”
Claire felt sick.
“Michael asked me to sign this.”
“Has he pressured you?”
“Not directly.”
“Then why are his mother and sister here?”
“Their apartment had a plumbing problem.”
Naomi’s expression changed.
“Have you seen proof of that?”
Claire thought about the question.
She had seen suitcases, bags, and boxes. She had never seen a repair notice, insurance document, or photograph of water damage.
“I assumed Michael had.”
Naomi closed the folder.
“Do not confront anyone yet. Let me discover who controls Northbridge.”
After Naomi left, Claire called the apartment building where Ruth lived.
The property manager checked the address.
“There has been no plumbing issue in that unit,” he said. “Mrs. Merritt ended her lease last month.”
“Ended it?”
“Yes. She said she was moving permanently.”
Claire looked out the window.
Ruth and Carla were in the garden speaking quietly beside Henry’s old bench.
Carla handed Ruth a brass key.
Claire recognized it immediately.
It belonged to her father’s study.
That evening, Michael called.
His face appeared on the phone screen against a plain hotel wall.
“How are my favorite people?” he asked.
“Your mother moved out of her apartment.”
Michael blinked.
“What?”
“There was no plumbing problem.”
“She may have misunderstood.”
“She ended her lease before coming here.”
Michael rubbed his forehead.
“I’m dealing with a crisis at work. Can we not turn this into another crisis?”
“Did you know?”
“No.”
“Did you give Carla a key to Dad’s study?”
“Of course not.”
Claire watched his expression closely.
“Did you ask your mother and sister to pressure me into signing the Northbridge papers?”
Michael stared into the camera.
Then his image froze.
The call ended.
A message appeared seconds later.
Bad connection. We will talk tomorrow.
Claire did not believe him.
She walked toward Dustin’s room and found his bed empty.
Panic struck her instantly.
She searched the bathroom, the hallway, and the kitchen.
Then she heard whispering in the dining room.
Dustin and Owen were hiding beneath the table.
Between them sat a small phone recording sound.
“What are you doing?” Claire asked.
Owen looked frightened.
Dustin picked up the phone.
“It’s for my school project.”
“What project?”
“We have to record sounds from our home.”
Claire relaxed slightly.
“What were you recording?”
May you like
Dustin glanced toward the dark kitchen.
“Grandma Ruth and Aunt Carla.”
