Chapter 3 - The Call Behind the Door
Ethan’s smile disappeared.
Elena used the table leg to pull herself upright. Her body protested, but anger gave her balance. She picked up her phone and walked toward the pantry.
Ethan blocked her path.
“Who are you calling?”
“My doctor.”
“That can wait.”
Elena looked at him. “Move.”
Something in her voice made him step aside.
Inside the pantry, she locked the door and called Margaret Hale, the attorney who had managed Rose’s trust for twenty-five years.
Elena had contacted Margaret after finding the false agreement. Together, they reviewed the deed, bank statements, and security footage from Ethan’s office. Margaret warned her not to confront him until the legal documents were ready.
They were ready that morning.
“He gave me the papers,” Elena whispered.
“Did you sign anything?” Margaret asked.
“No.”
“Are you safe?”
Ethan knocked hard against the door.
“For the moment.”
“The notice has been filed. The process server is on the way. I am ten minutes behind him.”
Outside, Patricia said loudly, “She is pretending to be sick because she knows she has nowhere to go.”
Margaret heard her.
“Do you need emergency services?”
“Yes. Send them to the side entrance. I do not want Ethan using my condition to stop the service.”
There was a pause.
“You sound like Rose,” Margaret said.
Elena remembered her grandmother’s words: courage was not loud. Sometimes it was the moment a frightened person decided not to surrender.
She ended the call, opened the pantry, and reached for her coat.
Ethan watched her.
“Are you ready to be reasonable?”
May you like
Elena slipped one arm into the coat.
“I am ready.”
