Chapter 14 - An Offer Made in the Dark
The deputy treated the shed break-in seriously. Leona gave him security footage from a shop across the street, though it showed only the rear of a dark SUV. We were lucky: June had copies of the photos, and the original papers were still secured at the bank.
"You don't have to be brave every second," Leona told me as I checked the window locks for the third time.
"I just want to stop being surprised by people who say they love me."
That night Beck called from an unlisted number. He spoke in a cheerful, practiced voice. "Emily, your grandmother may have let emotion cloud a business conversation. I'm offering a fresh start."
"Through a forged signature?"
"Nobody wants a public fight. You can take a generous payment, release your interest, and help your father's company."
"How generous?"
He named a sum that could have paid off my student loans ten times over. I almost hated myself for imagining it.
"In exchange for what?"
"An agreement not to contest the transfer. And I would expect you not to circulate private family recordings."
"Recordings of Clara lying?"
His tone changed. "Recordings can hurt your father too. Think about what it will do to him if everyone sees he assaulted his daughter."
After the call, I wrote down every word I could remember and sent it to June. She contacted the investigator handling the disputed documents and asked that Beck communicate only through counsel.
I didn't sleep. At sunrise I found Dad sitting outside Leona's gate, holding a folded sheet of paper. He had waited there rather than knock.
"Beck sent me this," he said.
It was an offer to drop the proposed petition against me if Dad persuaded me to sign the sale agreement by noon.
May you like
"And what did you tell him?" I asked.
Dad looked at his hands. "I told him I needed to ask my mother first."
