Chapter 10 - The Break-In
By the time Natalie’s infusion ended, every instinct I had told me to take her somewhere far from Scottsdale.
A hotel.
A friend’s house.
Another state.
Instead, we went to Marcus’s home.
His wife, Jenna, was out of town with their children, and his gated neighborhood had security cameras at both entrances.
Natalie curled up on the guest-room bed with anti-nausea medication, water, crackers, and three blankets even though the house was warm.
I sat beside her until she fell asleep.
When I stepped into the hallway, Brooke was waiting.
Marcus had picked her up from our house.
She looked scared.
“Mom’s there.”
“At the house?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“She called a locksmith and showed him mail with her name and the property address.”
I swore.
“Did she hurt you?”
“No. I left before she came inside.”
“Good.”
Brooke leaned against the wall.
“She took the family photo albums.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“Everything with Dad.”
That detail unsettled me more than if she had taken jewelry.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Marcus called us into his office.
Samuel was already on a video call.
A bandage crossed his temple.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I’m old enough that a filing cabinet wins every fight.”
“What happened?”
“Someone forced the rear door of my office. My assistant heard the alarm and called police. I arrived too early and surprised him.”
“You saw him?”
“Briefly.”
“Who?”
“Male. Forty to fifty. Baseball cap. Tall.”
“That describes half of Phoenix.”
“I know.”
“Did he get anything?”
“No trust originals.”
“What did he get?”
Samuel hesitated.
I felt my patience snap.
“Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Deciding what I can handle.”
His face tightened.
“You are right.”
“What did he take?”
“A box containing your father’s accident file.”
The room went cold.
“Police report?”
“Copies remain digitally.”
“What else?”
“Photographs. Luis Ortega’s notes. Daniel’s maintenance records.”
“Anything that could prove tampering?”
“Yes.”
Brooke sat down.
“So someone stole the only physical evidence.”
“Possibly.”
I looked at Samuel.
“Now explain Portland.”
He closed his eyes.
“Lorraine contacted me seven months ago.”
“Why?”
“She said she wanted to settle the trust dispute privately.”
“What dispute? I didn’t even know there was a trust.”
“That was the issue.”
“You met her.”
“Yes.”
“In Oregon.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She said Celia would attend.”
Celia sat across from Marcus’s desk.
“I never agreed to that.”
Samuel looked at her through the screen.
“I know that now.”
Celia’s mouth hardened.
“You always believe Lorraine when it is convenient.”
Samuel flinched.
There was history there.
“What happened at the meeting?” I asked.
Samuel answered.
“Lorraine offered to withdraw the incapacity claim if the trust sold thirty percent of the land to Saguaro Infrastructure.”
“For how much?”
“Twelve million.”
I frowned.
“But you said an offer for all the land was thirty-six million.”
“Yes.”
“So thirty percent for twelve sounds proportional.”
“It was not thirty percent by value. It was the most developable corridor. Our appraiser valued it near twenty-two million.”
“She wanted a discount.”
“Yes.”
“For Saguaro.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I believed she had a profit participation agreement.”
Marcus said, “Kickback.”
Samuel nodded.
“Likely.”
I stared at him.
“And you didn’t tell me.”
“I tried.”
“Letters she intercepted.”
“Yes.”
“Emails redirected.”
“Yes.”
“You are telling me one woman controlled every way to contact me?”
“No.”
He looked ashamed again.
“I also hesitated.”
“Why?”
“Because she threatened to expose something your father did.”
The room went silent.
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Natalie appeared in the doorway behind me.
She looked pale.
I stood.
“You should be resting.”
“I woke up.”
I helped her into a chair.
“What did Dad do?” I asked.
Samuel looked toward Celia.
She shook her head.
He sighed.
“Daniel falsified a loan document.”
Brooke whispered, “What?”
“Once. To keep his company alive during a cash crisis.”
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand.”
“That’s what Mom had on him?”
“Partly.”
“Partly?”
Celia spoke.
“Daniel also had an affair.”
I looked at her.
Brooke looked at her too.
Celia’s eyes filled.
“With me.”
The room changed.
It was almost comical how one confession could reorder twenty-seven years.
I stared at the woman who had just told me she slept with my father.
Natalie put her hand on my arm.
Brooke whispered, “How long?”
“Eight months.”
“Did Mom know?”
“Yes.”
“Did Dad love you?”
Celia began crying.
“Yes.”
I thought of Dad’s letter.
Trusting the wrong woman.
Lorraine’s words.
Suddenly their marriage was no longer a clean story with one villain and one victim.
It was ugly.
Human.
Complicated.
But none of that excused what Lorraine had done to Natalie.
None of it changed the theft.
None of it made forgery legal.
I asked, “Did my father plan to leave Mom for you?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you disappear after he died?”
“Because Lorraine came to my house the night after the funeral.”
“What did she say?”
Celia looked at me.
“She knew about the affair. She knew about the forged loan. She told me if I spoke about the money or the car, she would tell police Daniel had been embezzling and that I helped him.”
“Had you?”
“No.”
“Why run?”
“Because I was a coward.”
She looked at Brooke.
“And because she threatened you.”
Brooke went still.
“Me?”
Celia nodded.
“She said accidents happen to children too.”
My sister’s face emptied of color.
I stood so fast the chair fell backward.
Natalie grabbed my hand.
“Ethan.”
I breathed hard.
Marcus said, “We need to involve law enforcement.”
“Now.”
“Yes.”
Samuel spoke from the screen.
“I agree.”
Celia wiped her face.
“I have one thing that may help.”
She reached into her tote.
Not a folder this time.
A cassette tape.
Old.
Clear plastic.
Handwritten label.
DANIEL - 8/17.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Your father gave it to me three days before he died.”
“What’s on it?”
“He recorded Lorraine.”
Every person in the room stared at the tape.
Celia’s hand shook.
“I have never listened to the whole thing.”
“Why?”
“Because the first thirty seconds scared me enough.”
I took it carefully.
“What did she say?”
May you like
Celia looked at me.
“She said if Daniel tried to take the children, she would make sure he never reached the courthouse.”
