Chapter 13 - The Fire DoorMichael grabbed my arm.
“Move.”
We ran.
The fire door slammed behind us.
Someone followed.
Footsteps echoed down the hallway.
We reached the stairwell.
Evelyn shouted, “Down!”
We moved three floors before stopping.
Nobody appeared.
Back in the lobby, security footage showed a man entering five minutes before us.
His face was obscured.
The license plate was stolen.
My manager looked terrified.
“Someone knew you were coming.”
I knew who.
Pike.
But the question was why.
We returned home.
Noah was waiting in the driveway.
I got out of the car.
“You lied.”
“I protected you.”
“You met Pike.”
“Yes.”
“You promised to deliver Sage.”
“No.”
I held up my phone.
“I saw the video.”
Noah looked at it.
Then laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because he was exhausted.
“That video is real.”
My stomach dropped.
“Then explain.”
“No one knows how to manipulate people better than Pike.”
“Did you make a deal with him?”
“Yes.”
“What did you trade?”
Noah looked at Sage.
“My silence.”
“About what?”
He looked toward my mother’s house.
“The night your father died.”
Everyone went silent.
Noah continued.
“Robert discovered Pike had been siphoning money from the family trust.”
I frowned.
“Then why was Grandma involved?”
“Because Pike convinced her she could replace the money later.”
“With what?”
“Property.”
“Elmstone.”
He nodded.
“They moved everything into shell companies.”
My mother came onto the porch.
“You don't understand.”
Noah looked at her.
“You signed the first transfer.”
She began crying.
“I was forced.”
“By Pike?”
“No.”
She whispered:
“By Daniel.”
My breath caught.
“Daniel forced you?”
“He said if I didn't cooperate, he would expose what my husband had done.”
“Your husband?”
She looked at me.
“Your father.”
I stepped closer.
“What did Dad do?”
My mother whispered:
“He hid money too.”
Everything went still.
Not because it was unexpected.
Because I had spent my entire life believing my father was the one good person in the family.
Maybe he wasn't innocent.
Maybe he was simply less cruel.
My mother continued.
“Robert moved money out of the trust to protect Sage.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Enough to make Pike afraid.”
Noah shook his head.
“He didn't steal.”
My mother turned.
“He broke the trust rules.”
“To protect her.”
She looked at Sage.
“Yes.”
I stared at my daughter.
All of this.
Every lie.
Every argument.
Every birthday.
Every comparison.
Everything had somehow been orbiting her.
My phone rang.
It was Royce.
“Where are you?”
“At home.”
“You need to leave.”
“Why?”
“The Jeep transaction was reopened.”
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
His voice dropped.
“Someone paid the entire balance.”
“Who?”
A pause.
Then:
“Your mother.”
My blood ran cold.
“She emptied another account.”
“Which one?”
Royce whispered:
“The account registered to Sage.”
I turned toward my daughter.
Her face went white.
“How could she access it?”
Royce hesitated.
“She had a co-signature.”
My mother stared at us.
And then I noticed something.
May you like
She wasn't crying anymore.
She was smiling.
