Chapter 4 - The Arrival of Rebecca Stone
The shattering sound of Margaret's coffee cup broke the heavy, stunned silence of the courtyard. For a second, Patrick looked like he wanted to lunge down the steps and rip the papers straight out of my hands, but the presence of the household staff holding smartphones filming the scene kept him frozen in place.
"That's a forgery," Margaret hissed, her voice trembling with sudden panic as she grabbed her husband's arm. "Patrick, do something! Call the police! Have this lunatic arrested for trespassing and fabricating documents!"
"Go ahead," I replied smoothly, lowering the megaphone. "Call them. Tell the chief of police to check file number C-88402 at the county recorder's office. Andrew filed the transfer himself three weeks before he passed away. Everything is fully notarized, stamped, and legally binding."
Before Patrick could pull out his phone, a sleek black town car glided up the driveway and parked neatly beside our battered pickup. The rear door opened, and a woman in a sharp charcoal-gray pantsuit stepped out. Her silver-streaked hair was cut into a precise bob, and her sharp eyes swept over the scene with the absolute authority of a general surveying a battlefield.
It was Attorney Rebecca Stone.
She adjusted her glasses, briefcase in hand, and walked straight toward the steps where Patrick and Margaret stood paralyzed.
"Good morning, Mr. Callahan, Mrs. Callahan," Rebecca said, her voice dripping with professional ice. "I am Attorney Rebecca Stone. I represent Cynthia Callahan and the rightful heirs of the late Andrew Callahan."
Patrick forced a brittle, arrogant laugh, trying to regain his footing. "Rebecca, you're wasting your time. This girl is running a scam. Andrew was our son; whatever he owned came from our family empire. We hold the controlling shares of Callahan Enterprises—"
"Correction, Mr. Callahan," Rebecca interrupted smoothly, opening her own leather folio and pulling out a thick set of stapled documents. "Andrew was a brilliant forensic accountant who spent the last three years auditing your corporate accounts. He didn't just own this residential property outright; he also held a controlling lien on Callahan Enterprises due to unrecovered corporate debt and illegal asset concealment."
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Rebecca looked up, locking eyes with Patrick. "In simple terms, Mr. Callahan? You are currently standing on your daughter-in-law's lawn, operating out of a company that she now legally has the power to liquidate by close of business today."
Margaret staggered back, catching herself against the massive oak front door. The color had completely drained from her face. The high-and-mighty patriarch and matriarch of Pine Valley suddenly looked very small.
