Chapter 8 - sunday dinner
Sunday arrived bright and warm.
At five forty-five, Amelia walked into Henry's dining room wearing the white sweater she had promised Ava.
Diane was arranging flowers.
Ava was already drinking wine.
She wore the green wrap dress.
"Wow," Ava said. "You actually dressed up."
Amelia looked at her.
"This is a sweater."
"Exactly."
Diane glanced over.
"Can we please have one peaceful dinner?"
Amelia almost admired the sentence.
Peace, in Diane's vocabulary, had always meant silence from the person being mistreated.
Henry entered at five fifty-eight.
Pink shirt.
Black trousers.
Cane.
Glasses.
No smile.
Diane noticed immediately.
"Dad, are you all right?"
"Perfect."
Henry took his place at the head of the table.
Dinner began.
For seventeen minutes, they discussed weather, local politics, a neighbor's renovation, and the quality of the roast.
Ava talked about work.
She said she had spent Saturday preparing a presentation.
Amelia knew the SUV tracker placed her at Willow Creek for nearly an hour.
Henry knew too.
He let Ava finish.
Then he asked, "How was work yesterday?"
Ava barely looked up.
"Exhausting."
"What time did you get there?"
"Nine."
"And left?"
"Five-ish."
Henry cut a piece of beef.
"Busy office?"
"Very."
Diane gave him a warning glance.
He ignored it.
"Did you take your car?"
Ava hesitated.
"My car was acting up."
"So you took Amelia's."
Ava rolled her eyes.
"She doesn't care."
Amelia sipped water.
Diane looked at her.
"Do you?"
Amelia set the glass down.
"I think people should ask before taking things."
"Here we go," Diane muttered.
Ava sighed dramatically.
"It's a car."
"It's my car."
"Grandpa bought it."
"For me."
Diane placed her fork down.
"Can we not do this again?"
Henry looked at Diane.
"Again?"
Diane's face tightened.
"Ava borrowed it. Amelia acted like she'd been robbed."
Amelia almost smiled at the choice of words.
Henry leaned back.
"When did Ava borrow it?"
"Yesterday," Diane said.
Ava nodded.
"For work."
Henry reached for his phone.
The room changed.
Amelia felt it before anyone else understood why.
Henry unlocked the screen.
Opened the GPS application.
Then he slammed his cane against the hardwood.
The sound exploded through the dining room.
Everyone froze.
"Where the hell is Amelia's SUV?"
Diane stood.
"Dad, stop making a scene."
She tried to take the phone.
Henry pulled it away.
"Ava needs it more."
He stared at her.
Ava's face had gone pale.
Then came the keys.
The deliberate drop into Amelia's plate.
The gravy.
The insult.
"Quit whining. You should've bought it for me."
Diane grabbed Amelia's shoulder.
"Sit down and stop acting like a spoiled little brat."
Amelia wiped the keys with Diane's napkin.
Henry rotated the phone toward Ava.
"You said you drove it to work yesterday."
"So what?"
"You didn't."
"Grandpa..."
"You drove to Willow Creek Private Storage."
Silence.
There it was.
The location he had not finished naming in the opening confrontation.
Ava stood too quickly.
"Give me that."
She lunged.
Henry pulled the phone away.
Amelia smiled.
Diane saw the smile.
And everything changed.
She turned toward Amelia.
"You knew."
Amelia placed the clean keys on the table.
"Yes."
"For how long?"
"Long enough."
Ava stared at her.
"You tracked me?"
"Grandpa tracked his vehicle."
"It's my vehicle too."
"No," Amelia said.
For the first time, her voice became hard.
"It isn't."
Diane stepped closer.
"You had no right to spy on your sister."
Henry laughed.
"No right?"
He unlocked another screen.
"Then let's discuss rights."
He placed the phone on the table.
GPS history.
Bank locations.
Storage facility.
Mariner's Reach.
Printing office.
Randall Shaw's office.
Ava stopped breathing normally.
Diane remained strangely calm.
"You're misunderstanding."
Henry looked at her.
"Good. Explain it."
"Some of those trips were business."
"Whose business?"
"Mine."
"Which business?"
Diane said nothing.
Henry continued.
"D.H. Consulting?"
Ava looked at Diane.
That was important.
Amelia noticed.
Ava had not expected Henry to know the company name.
Henry continued.
"Or Magnolia Property Services?"
Now Diane's face changed.
"Paul has been talking to you."
"Paul has been protecting me."
Diane shook her head.
"You are letting outsiders turn you against your family."
Henry's voice became dangerously quiet.
"Paul has been my lawyer for thirty years."
"Exactly. He's been waiting for a chance to control the estate."
Amelia watched her mother.
The speed was remarkable.
Confronted with evidence, Diane immediately invented a villain.
Henry did not take the bait.
He pulled a folded paper from his pocket.
The forged beneficiary certification.
"Did Paul make this too?"
Diane stared at it.
Ava sat down.
Henry placed the paper beside her wineglass.
"My signature."
Diane's eyes moved.
"My trust."
No answer.
"My granddaughter's identity."
Diane looked at Amelia.
"There is an explanation."
"Then explain."
Diane opened her mouth.
Ava spoke first.
"Mom said you approved it."
Everyone turned.
Diane's head snapped toward her.
"Ava."
Ava's breathing became shallow.
"You said Grandpa approved the loan."
"Stop talking."
"You said Amelia was going to inherit millions anyway."
Amelia felt the room tilt.
Diane's composure cracked.
"Ava, be quiet."
Henry leaned forward.
"No. Let her talk."
Ava looked terrified.
Not of Henry.
Of Diane.
"Mom said the condo was basically an advance."
Diane stood.
"She doesn't know what she's saying."
Ava's eyes filled.
"You told me Amelia would never notice."
Silence.
Amelia looked at her mother.
There were some sentences a family could survive.
That was not one of them.
Henry's face became stone.
Diane slowly sat.
Then she said, "You don't understand what it's like."
Amelia almost laughed.
Diane looked at Henry.
"You gave her everything."
"Who?"
"Amelia."
Ava stared at her.
Diane continued.
"You gave Amelia the trust authority. The car. Your confidence. Every time Ava needed something, you compared her to Amelia."
Henry's eyebrows rose.
"I never compared them."
"You didn't need to."
Diane's voice trembled.
"Amelia walks into a room and everyone trusts her. Ava has to fight for everything."
Amelia stared at her.
"Ava tried to buy a million-dollar condo using my identity."
Diane looked at her as though Amelia were being unreasonable.
"You weren't losing anything."
That sentence ended whatever hope remained.
Henry stood.
"You are done."
Diane blinked.
"What?"
"With my company. With my accounts. With my property records. With every position I ever gave you."
"You can't..."
"I already did."
Diane went white.
Ava turned to her.
"What does he mean?"
Henry looked at Amelia.
Then back at Diane.
"It means while you were stealing paper from my study, I was removing your access."
Diane's chair scraped backward.
She reached for her handbag.
Henry raised one hand.
"Don't."
She froze.
"Why?"
"Because Paul is in the next room."
May you like
The dining room went silent.
"And so is a financial investigator."
