Chapter 11 - PLAN B
Plan B was not a kidnapping.
It was worse in a quieter way.
Caroline intended to create an emergency at the lake property.
A fake electrical fire.
Enough damage to make the house legally uninhabitable.
Then North Ridge Development would make a new offer.
Reduced price.
Fast closing.
Caroline believed a court-appointed guardian could argue the sale was necessary for Sophie’s safety.
“She was going to burn Grace’s house?” Allison whispered.
Diane shook her head.
“Not burn it down. Damage it.”
As though that distinction helped.
I called Mr. Ellis.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Police were dispatched.
Rachel and I drove behind them.
Smoke was already rising when we reached the property.
Not from the house.
The boathouse.
Mr. Ellis stood outside coughing.
“I caught him.”
“Who?”
“A man near the breaker panel.”
Police had already detained a contractor in the driveway.
He claimed Caroline hired him to “simulate an electrical fault.”
He did not know anyone would be inside.
Mr. Ellis pointed to the boathouse.
“She wanted the records destroyed.”
Inside, one wall had burned.
But the metal file cabinet survived.
Rachel opened it after firefighters cleared the area.
Grace’s original property documents were still inside.
So was something nobody expected.
A small digital recorder.
Mr. Ellis stared at it.
“Grace left that.”
“When?”
“Two months before she died.”
My heart started pounding.
We charged the battery.
One file.
Twenty-seven minutes.
Grace’s voice.
Then Caroline’s.
They were arguing.
Caroline said, “Sophie is a child. She doesn’t know what she owns.”
Grace answered, “Exactly. Which is why adults are supposed to protect it for her.”
Caroline laughed.
“You act like Michael will never remarry.”
“He may.”
“And then?”
“Then I hope he marries someone who understands love is not a competition.”
I looked at Allison.
She broke down.
The recording continued.
Caroline’s next sentence changed everything.
“If Michael chooses another woman, Sophie will have to choose too.”
May you like
Grace answered quietly.
“No. Only people like you think love requires sides.”
