Chapter 6 - A Guest Who Knew the House
Leah Bennett was standing beside Walter's portrait when Gabriel came downstairs. She was a poised woman in her early forties, wearing a plain dark-green dress and carrying a battered leather briefcase. Her resemblance to Margaret Voss was obvious around the eyes.
"Your father told me you'd ask questions eventually," she said.
"Did he tell you to enter my house without warning?"
"Your mother invited me."
Gabriel looked toward Evelyn, who sat at the piano as though nothing unusual had happened. "Why?"
"Because Leah has been making accusations against this family," Evelyn said. "I wanted everyone to hear them together."
Leah opened the briefcase. "That's not what you said on the phone. You told me you'd return the missing case if I came alone."
Daniel appeared from the study. "You shouldn't have come."
"Then you shouldn't have stolen the records."
Gabriel asked Mrs. Alvarez to take Rosie and Owen to June's apartment for the afternoon. Rosie resisted leaving until he promised to call before dinner. "No secrets about me," she said.
"No secrets about you," he agreed.
Once the children were gone, Leah spread documents across the dining table. Walter had discovered that Daniel used the family company to guarantee private loans. When payments fell behind, Daniel and Evelyn began shifting funds among subsidiaries to conceal the losses. Leah's audit had uncovered enough to halt the sale Gabriel had spent weeks negotiating.
"You were selling the company based on statements they altered," Leah said.
Gabriel stared at Daniel. "You told me the debt was resolved."
"It would have been if you hadn't delayed the deal."
"I delayed it because Dad died."
"And now we're all going to lose everything because you want to play hero for one spoiled kid?"
Gabriel stepped away from the table. "Don't speak about Rosie again."
Evelyn finally stood. "Daniel made mistakes. He was trying to save what your father built."
"He was trying to save his cottage," Gabriel said. "With money from Rosie's Christmas presents."
Celeste came down the stairs carrying a small metal case. "Is this what everyone wants?"
Leah moved toward it. Celeste held it out of reach.
"Not until Gabriel agrees not to destroy Daniel's life."
"You used my daughter as leverage," Gabriel said.
Celeste's smile cracked. "We needed her to admit she'd taken the key. Your father told her where he kept things."
"He told her stories."
"He trusted her more than us."
The admission silenced the room. Gabriel remembered Walter teaching Rosie to count the wooden joints on an old chair, saying that the strongest things were often held together where nobody looked.
Leah took a breath. "There's another reason they needed the case. Walter amended his will. He left a protected education and housing fund for Rosie, outside Evelyn's control. Daniel's debts cannot touch it."
Evelyn slapped her palm against the table. "Walter had no right to humiliate his own sons."
"He didn't," Leah said. "He tried to protect his granddaughter."
Gabriel asked Celeste to set down the case. She did, but only after Daniel promised her something with a glance Gabriel couldn't read. Inside were original ledgers, Walter's signed instructions, and a small envelope marked FOR GABRIEL WHEN HE COMES HOME.
Gabriel opened it. His father's handwriting slanted across a single page.
I was afraid to tell you how badly I failed your mother and how long I let Evelyn use my silence. I thought I could repair the company quietly. If they ever make Rosie carry the blame for what adults have done, don't ask her to be brave for them. Be brave for her.
Gabriel read the last line twice.
Leah's phone buzzed. She checked the screen and went pale. "My mother says someone broke into her duplex."
"Is she safe?"
"She's with a neighbor. But the original bank tape is gone."
Daniel was already moving toward the door. Gabriel called after him, "Where are you going?"
"To get a lawyer."
"Good. You'll need one."
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The front door slammed. Seconds later, Gabriel received a photograph from an unknown number: Rosie standing beside June's apartment window, unaware she was being watched from the street.
Below it were the words: GIVE BACK THE CASE BEFORE THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS GO OUT.
