CHAPTER 10: THE TRUTH
I went back to my car and sat there for a long time, staring at the house that used to be mine. The lights were on inside. I could see them moving around, laughing, celebrating.
They thought they'd won.
They thought I was beaten.
But I still had one card left to play.
I drove to Mary's office and found her still there, sitting at her desk with a bottle of bourbon and two glasses.
"Sarah," she said. "I didn't expect you."
"I know about the debt," I said. "I know Robert was lying to me."
Mary nodded slowly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was trying to find a way to break it gently."
"Break what?"
Mary reached into her desk and pulled out a second folder. "The business isn't in debt. Robert was hiding money, but he wasn't hiding debt. He was hiding assets."
I stared at her. "What?"
"Melissa lied to you. The letters were forged. She's been trying to get you to give up so she can take everything."
I felt the world tilt again. "So Robert wasn't lying to me?"
"He was protecting you. The debt was a lie he created to throw Melissa off the trail. She's been trying to destroy this family for years. Robert knew it. He was just waiting for the right moment to expose her."
I sank into the chair across from Mary. "Everything they did—the restraining order, the confrontation, the house—it was all to get me to believe that Robert was a liar."
"Yes. And to get you to abandon everything."
I felt a laugh bubbling up from somewhere deep inside me. "They really thought I'd just give up."
"Melissa didn't count on one thing," Mary said. "She didn't count on you being stronger than she is."
"How did she get in the house?"
"Daniel had a key. He never returned it. And the letter—the one you found in the car—was just a distraction. Something to make you panic."
I sat back in my chair. "So what do we do now?"
"Now," Mary said, "we fight. We fight harder than they ever imagined. And we win."
She handed me a glass of bourbon.
May you like
I took it.
And I smiled.
