Chapter 6 - The Brother Who Chose the Wrong Side
Luke agreed to meet at a diner off Boston Post Road because, as he put it, “public places keep everybody civilized.”
Mara arrived with Daniel. Luke came alone, wearing the same expensive coat he’d worn to George’s funeral and an expression that said he intended to end the conversation before it began.
He saw the copy of George’s memo in Mara’s hand and sighed.
“You went through Dad’s boxes.”
“You should’ve.”
Luke slid into the booth.
“He wrote a lot of things when he was mad.”
“He wrote that you were not to control Parcel C.”
Luke looked at the laminated menu instead of at her. “He overreacted.”
Mara waited.
Daniel didn’t.
“Why did you tell Vanessa about the distribution?”
Luke finally looked up.
“Because she’s trying to fix a title defect before a refinance.”
“By freezing Mara’s money?”
“By forcing a resolution.”
Mara felt something in her chest go cold and clear.
“Did she pay you?”
Luke actually looked offended. Then he realized from her face that pretending outrage would not save him.
“She cleared a tax lien for me,” he said.
Daniel laughed under his breath, not because anything was funny.
“There it is.”
Mara kept her voice low.
“How much?”
“Thirty-eight thousand.”
“And in exchange?”
“I signed an affidavit that George intended to convey the full eastern ground package at closing.”
Mara stared at him. “Which wasn’t true.”
“It was complicated.”
“No,” she said. “You were bought.”
Luke rubbed his forehead. “You think this is about me getting rich? I was trying to keep the estate from a lawsuit and keep Vanessa from dragging Dad’s name through town. The refinance would have paid off the pressure and ended it.”
Mara heard the part he had not meant to say.
“Pressure from what?”
Luke hesitated.
“From the hidden structure?”
He didn’t answer.
Mara knew then he had seen it or known of it long before the loader touched the wall.
He looked tired for the first time.
“Adrian put money into that place,” he said. “Vanessa’s been hanging on since he died.”
“What’s in there?”
“I don’t know all of it.”
Daniel gave him a flat look. “That’s a lie.”
Luke looked away.
Mara pushed once more.
“What did Dad find?”
Luke swallowed.
“Enough that he changed the deed.”
When Mara and Daniel stood to leave, Luke reached for her wrist, then stopped himself when he noticed her belly and saw Daniel watching.
“Mara, if you go after this, it won’t just hurt Vanessa.”
“It already hurt me.”
Luke leaned back, defeated but still selfish enough to make one last appeal.
“Then at least understand this wasn’t built for storage.”
Mara stopped.
“What does that mean?”
Luke looked toward the window.
May you like
“Check the electric usage,” he said quietly. “And ask why a widow needs catering deliveries at midnight.”
It was the first useful truth he had given her.
