“How much exposure?”
Nathan hesitated.
“Potentially all of it.”
I looked at him.
“All of what?”
“The Alexandria property.”
For several seconds, I couldn’t speak.
My grandmother’s property.
She had bought it in the 1980s.
She had refused to sell even when developers offered her more money than anyone in our family had seen at the time.
When she left it to me, she told me one thing.
Don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for protecting what I spent my life building.
I had laughed.
I thought she was being dramatic.
Now I understood.
I looked at Adrian.
“You knew how I felt about that property.”
His face tightened.
“It was never actually at risk.”
Richard answered.
“It is now.”
Adrian spun toward him.
“No, it isn’t.”
“If Mercer Ridge defaults and the lender attempts to enforce the guaranty, Maren will have to prove she never authorized it.”
“She can prove it.”
“That is not the point.”
Richard’s voice cracked through the room.
“You used her name because you thought you could clean it up before anyone asked questions.”
Adrian said nothing.
That was exactly what he had done.
I reached for my phone.
Adrian looked at me.
“Who are you calling?”
“My attorney.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Maren, it’s Saturday.”
“I’m sure fraud observes weekends.”
Camille made a sound that might have been a laugh before covering it with her hand.
Adrian glared at her.
Then at me.
“You’re enjoying this.”
That stunned me.
“Enjoying what?”
“Watching my family turn against me.”
I looked around.
His mother was crying.
His father looked twenty years older.
His cousin was staring at the table.
Sienna had one hand on the doorway as if she wanted to escape.
“No, Adrian.”
I looked back at him.
“This is the opposite of enjoyable.”
He shook his head.
“You always do this.”
“Do what?”
“Act morally superior.”
I stared at him.
Then something inside me finally hardened.
“You brought another woman into this house, announced her as your replacement for me, forged my financial consent, and apparently put property my grandmother left me at risk.”
I picked up my purse.
“If I seem morally superior right now, Adrian, that may not be a difficult standard to meet.”
Nobody spoke.
He looked like I had slapped him.
I hadn’t.
I never needed to.
I walked toward Richard.
“Can you email me the entire file?”
“Yes.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes.”
Adrian stepped between us.
“No.”
Richard stared at him.
“Move.”
“Dad.”
“Move.”
For several seconds, neither man did.
Then Evelyn stood.
Her voice was quiet.
“Adrian.”
He looked at his mother.
She wiped her face.
“Leave.”
That hurt him more than Richard’s shouting had.
“Mom.”
“Please.”
He stared at her.
She shook her head.
“I cannot look at you right now.”
Adrian’s face changed.
For a second, he looked like a little boy.
Then the anger returned.
He grabbed his coat.
“Sienna.”
She didn’t move.
He looked at her.
“Come on.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
His expression hardened.
“What?”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“You came with me.”
“That was before I found out you lied about everything.”
“I didn’t lie about everything.”
She laughed bitterly.
“That’s your defense?”
Adrian stepped toward her.
“Sienna.”
She backed away.
“No.”
Then she looked at me.
“I’m sorry.”
I didn’t know what to say.
She continued.
“I know that means nothing.”
“It doesn’t mean nothing.”
She seemed surprised.
“But it doesn’t fix anything either.”
Her eyes filled.
“I know.”
Adrian opened the front door.
“You’re both unbelievable.”
Richard laughed softly.
“Interesting choice of words.”
Adrian left alone.
The door slammed behind him.
For several seconds, the entire house was silent.
Then one of Evelyn’s oldest friends quietly began ushering guests toward the backyard.
People understood.
Within ten minutes, most of the dining room had emptied.
The anniversary dinner was over.
No toast.
No cake.
No vow renewal.
Just abandoned plates beneath white roses.
I stood beside the table staring at the chair Sienna had almost taken.
Evelyn approached me.
“I’m sorry.”
I looked at her.
She was crying again.
“For what?”
“For my son.”
“You didn’t do this.”
“I raised him.”
“So did Richard.”
She looked toward her husband.
Richard was speaking quietly to Nathan near the fireplace.
“I keep wondering when he became someone capable of this.”
I knew what she meant.
I had been asking myself the same question.
When did my husband become a stranger?
The problem was that strangers don’t usually appear overnight.
Sometimes you simply discover the rooms in someone that they never let you enter.
Sienna remained near the foyer.
She seemed unsure whether she was allowed to leave.
I walked toward her.
“Do you have a ride?”
She blinked.
“What?”
“Did Adrian drive?”
“Yes.”
“Then you need a ride.”
She looked almost embarrassed.
“I can call someone.”
“Good.”
I started to turn.
“Maren.”
I stopped.
“There’s something you need to know.”
Of course there was.
That night seemed incapable of running out of things I needed to know.
“What?”
Sienna glanced toward Richard.
Then back at me.
