Chapter 4 - The Aunt Who Collected Rent Twice
Victor asked to speak privately. Claire refused.
"Whatever concerns my home can be said in front of me."
Denise laughed. "It's not your home."
Gabriel turned the county record so she could read it.
"According to this, it isn't yours either."
Denise's cheeks reddened.
Victor tried another approach.
"The trust has complicated terms. Mrs. Bell was granted temporary occupancy."
"Then show us the terms," Gabriel said.
"The original documents are in storage."
"Convenient."
Nora arrived with a local attorney named Helen Brooks. Helen had no connection to the Vale family and made that clear before taking a seat.
"I'll represent Claire if she wants me to," she said. "Not Mr. Vale."
Claire agreed.
Helen examined the deed and the rent receipts. Denise had signed every one. More troubling, the account receiving the payments belonged to a small cleaning company registered in Denise's name.
"Three hundred a month for five years," Helen said. "Do you have records of every payment?"
Claire pulled a battered envelope from her bag.
"I kept them."
Denise's expression changed.
"You kept all that junk?"
Claire looked her in the eye.
"You taught me to."
Helen requested an immediate court order to prevent an unauthorized eviction and began reviewing the trust. Denise stormed out. Victor followed, but not before leaning toward Gabriel.
"Your mother wanted certain matters left alone."
Gabriel said, "Then she should have left a letter."
That night, Denise returned to the Bell house while Claire was working a late cleaning shift. Annie was watching Teddy, and a neighbor, Mrs. Alvarez, had agreed to check in every hour.
Denise used a key Claire had never known she possessed.
Annie stood from the kitchen chair.
"Mom said you can't come in."
"Your mother doesn't make the rules."
Denise carried an empty suitcase.
"Pack your things."
"Why?"
"Because you've embarrassed me."
Annie held Teddy closer. "Where would we go?"
"Ask your rich new friend."
Denise seized the paper Christmas tree from the wall and crumpled it. The five ornaments fell across the floor.
Annie made a small sound.
"Please. I made that for Mom."
Denise shoved the torn paper into the trash.
"Then make another."
Teddy started crying. Annie turned toward his bottle, but Denise blocked the counter.
"First, tell me what you told Gabriel about me."
"Nothing."
"Don't lie."
Denise grabbed Annie's arm and pulled her away from the table. Annie stumbled into a chair, protecting Teddy against her chest. She cried out in pain.
Mrs. Alvarez heard the noise from next door and came running. She found Denise looming over Annie, who was crouched on the floor with the baby held securely in her lap.
"Step away from those children," Mrs. Alvarez said.
Denise spun around. "This is family business."
"Not anymore."
Mrs. Alvarez called Claire and the police. She took Annie and Teddy next door while officers documented what happened. Annie kept apologizing for the broken paper tree.
"You didn't break it," Mrs. Alvarez told her.
"But Mom worked so hard today."
"Your mother wants you safe more than she wants a decoration."
Claire arrived shaking. She held both children and did not let go until a paramedic finished checking Annie. The child had a painful bruise on her arm but no serious injury. Teddy was unharmed.
Gabriel came only after Claire called him.
He saw Annie sitting under Mrs. Alvarez's blanket, her face blotchy and her little paper ornament clenched in one hand.
"Did she hurt you?" he asked.
Annie looked at Claire before answering.
"Yes."
Gabriel nodded once.
"I'm sorry."
"Can you fix our tree?"
He looked at the crushed paper.
"I can try."
They sat at the kitchen table and repaired it with tape. Gabriel's hands were clumsy. Annie corrected him twice.
When they finished, the tree leaned badly.
"It's ugly," Gabriel admitted.
Annie looked at it for a long moment.
"No," she said. "It stayed."
Helen obtained an emergency order protecting Claire's occupancy while the trust was investigated. Denise was barred from contacting the children while the authorities reviewed the incident.
But the next morning, the police called with a question.
Denise claimed she had been acting under written instructions from the trust's administrator.
May you like
The administrator was Victor Sloane.
And the letter he produced carried Evelyn Vale's signature, dated six months after her death.
