CHAPTER 5: THE FIRST MOVE
The next morning, I made Hannah breakfast while I waited for Jonathan's call.
At 8:47, my phone buzzed.
"It's done," Jonathan said.
"All of it?"
"All of it. The Holloway Select Markets flagship store is legally yours. The distribution warehouse is yours. The three smaller properties they use for regional offices are yours. And the investment firm that's been keeping them afloat?"
"What about it?"
"I just bought it. Through a shell company. They don't know yet."
"When will they find out?"
"Within the hour. By noon, they'll realize everything is falling apart."
"Good."
"Evelyn, I need to warn you. They're going to come after you personally. They'll try to discredit you, attack you, maybe even threaten you."
"They've already threatened me. I'm not afraid of them."
I hung up and sat down across from Hannah.
"What's happening?" she asked.
"I just took everything they own."
Hannah stared at me.
"What?"
"Every property, every investment, every source of income they have. I just took it all."
"But—how?"
"Years of planning. Years of buying the ground beneath their feet without them knowing."
At 9:30, Grant called.
I answered on the first ring.
"Evelyn, what did you do?"
"Good morning, Grant. Sleep well?"
"Don't play games with me. The bank is saying our mortgages have been called in. The distribution warehouse says they can't ship our orders. My investors are pulling out. What did you do?"
"I took back what was mine."
"Your diner? That's what this is about? You're destroying my business because of your diner?"
"No, Grant. I'm destroying your business because you hurt my daughter. And this is just the beginning."
"You can't do this. You're nobody. You're just a cook."
I laughed.
"That's what you've always believed, isn't it? That I was beneath you. That I was just a waitress, a cook, a nobody. You thought I was powerless."
"You are powerless!"
"I'm the woman who owns everything you built your life on. I'm the woman who's about to take every dollar you've ever earned. And I'm the woman who's going to make you watch it all disappear."
He was silent for a moment.
Then: "I'll destroy you. I'll ruin your diner. I'll make sure you never see your granddaughter again."
"Bold talk for a man who's about to lose everything."
I hung up.
Hannah was staring at me.
"Mom, what did you just do?"
"Exactly what I said I was going to do."
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The phone rang again. It was Margaret.
I let it go to voicemail.
