Chapter 14 - Cold Steel and Old Blood
"Julian," I muttered, the name tasting like ash. "Julian didn't care about Elena's estate. He wanted the valley."
"Courtney's cousin worked at Julian's private equity firm in Manhattan," Kevin stammered, pulling at his hair, his eyes wild with terror. "Last summer... Courtney told me she was helping her cousin with some commercial property paperwork. She said it was just consulting. She told me the money she bought that damn handbag with came from her consulting bonus!"
"She sold us out, Kevin," I said, my voice dead and flat. "She didn't just rob your joint savings account. She handed Julian the legal crowbar he needed to pry this land away from Maisie."
We hurried back inside, stamping the snow from our boots. Maisie was waiting by the hallway arch, wrapped in an oversized knitted blanket.
"Daddy?" she asked, her voice small. "Was that the police again? Is Aunt Courtney coming back?"
I knelt down on the worn pine floorboards, forcing my breathing to slow, forcing every trace of anger to disappear behind a calm, reassuring smile. I reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"No, sweetheart. Aunt Courtney isn't coming back. That was just a lawyer delivering some boring paperwork about the trees on the back forty."
"Why did he look at me through the window?" she asked, her gray eyes—so painfully like her mother's—searching mine with terrifying intuition.
"Because he's a busybody who doesn't have good manners," I said softly, kissing her forehead. "I need you to do me a favor. Go into your room, pack your backpack with your schoolbooks, three days of clothes, and your mother's music box. Put on your heavy wool socks."
"Are we going somewhere?"
"Just down to Mrs. Gable's house for a little while," I lied smoothly. "Kevin and I have to go into town early to deal with some pipes at the old mill before the hard freeze hits tonight."
She hesitated, looking at Kevin, who managed a strained, trembling nod. "Okay, Daddy," she whispered, turning and padding down the hall toward her room.
As soon as her door clicked shut, the warmth vanished from my face. I grabbed my keys and my heavy canvas jacket from the peg by the door.
May you like
"Where are we going?" Kevin asked, his face white. "You heard him. If we take her across county lines, it's a felony."
"We're not crossing county lines," I said, opening the bottom drawer of my roll-top desk and pulling out a heavy brass key wrapped in oiled leather. "We're going to the old mill vault. Before Julian Sterling disappeared seven years ago, he forced Elena to sign a private pre-incorporation charter for the Vance timber trust. Elena told me she hid a certified copy where he couldn't find it. I thought it was just sentimental nonsense about our wedding promises. But it wasn't. It was an indemnification clause."
