Grant grabbed the phone.
“You’re finally out of the family, Natalie.”
Dad carefully set his coffee mug onto the table.
The soft click of ceramic against wood unsettled me more than shouting ever could.
Grant kept talking.
“No more flying in every few months and pretending you’re the devoted daughter.”
I stayed silent.
Dad leaned closer to the phone.
“Vanessa.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Dad spoke again, calm and steady.
“That’s interesting, because I don’t remember dying.”
I heard Grant whisper,
“What the hell?”
Vanessa’s voice cracked.
“Dad?”
“Yes.”
“This isn’t funny.”
“I agree.”
His tone turned colder.
“Especially the part about dividing my property.”
Vanessa began stumbling over her words.
“We—we were told—”
“By whom?”
Nothing.
Dad looked at me.
“You found papers in my office, didn’t you?”
Silence answered him again.
A humorless smile crossed his face.
“Those weren’t my final documents.”
Grant swore under his breath.
Dad continued.
“The real documents were signed yesterday.”
Vanessa inhaled sharply.
“And Natalie knows what’s in them.”
Before she could say another word, someone knocked on her car window.
A man’s voice came clearly through the speaker.
“Mrs. Cole? We need to speak with you about documents you submitted this morning.”
Vanessa screamed.
“Grant, drive!”
NEXT PAGE
