Chương 6
“Why?”
“Because it’s complicated.”
Savannah stared at the phone.
“Complicated usually means someone doesn’t want to explain.”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
That sentence hurt more than she expected.
Not because it was cruel.
Because it was familiar.
Kevin had always believed his problems were too complicated for anyone else to understand.
He had built an entire identity around being the person life happened to.
“What did you need the money for?”
A pause.
“Bills.”
“You told Mom it was for a vacation.”
“I didn’t.”
“Then why did she say that?”
“I don’t know.”
Savannah walked to the window.
The hotel parking lot lights reflected against the glass.
“Kevin.”
“What?”
“Did you know Grandma was worried someone would pressure me about the house?”
The silence changed.
“What are you talking about?”
“You heard me.”
“No.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
His voice became defensive.
“She never said anything to me.”
“Did you go through her things?”
The question came out before she could stop it.
Kevin did not answer.
That was enough.
“Kevin.”
“I was looking for paperwork.”
“What paperwork?”
“I needed information.”
“About what?”
“About the house.”
Savannah felt her hand tighten around the phone.
“Why?”
“Because I was trying to figure out if there was any way to help.”
“Help who?”
Another pause.
Then Kevin said, “Mom.”
The answer was quiet.
Almost ashamed.
That was when Savannah realized something that made the entire situation more painful.
Kevin might not have started this because he wanted the house.
He might have started it because he believed he was rescuing their mother.
And somehow that made it worse.
Because people who believe they are helping can do terrible things without seeing themselves as the person causing damage.
“Who helped you with the paperwork?” Savannah asked.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s impossible.”
“I mean I didn’t do the paperwork.”
“Then who did?”
Kevin did not answer.
“Kevin.”
“I can’t talk about this right now.”
“You mean you won’t.”
“Same difference.”
“No.”
Her voice shook for the first time.
“It isn’t.”
He became quiet.
Savannah hated that she sounded hurt.
She wanted to sound strong.
She wanted to sound like someone who had everything under control.
But she was talking to her little brother, and part of her was still waiting for him to say he was sorry.
“I need the truth,” she said.
Kevin’s voice softened.
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Then why am I still finding out things from strangers?”
He did not answer.
The call ended without either of them saying goodbye.
Savannah remained standing by the window.
A family across the parking lot loaded suitcases into their car.
A child ran back toward the hotel entrance because he had forgotten something.
His father called after him.
The ordinary scene felt almost painful.
She used to think losing the house would be the worst part.
Now she understood that the house was only the place where everything hidden had finally become visible.
The next morning, Claire from the title company contacted her.
She had found another record.
Not a document.
A payment.
A small transfer made before the closing.
The sender was not her mother.
It was not Kevin.
It was a company Savannah did not recognize.
And the address attached to the company was the same address listed for the person who prepared the fraudulent paperwork.
The company name meant nothing to Savannah, which somehow made it feel more dangerous.
If it had been a name she recognized, she could have placed it somewhere in her mind.
A person.
A conversation.
A mistake.
Instead, it was just a line of text connected to money and paperwork that had changed her life.
She called Claire immediately.
“Who is the company?”
Claire looked through her notes before answering.
“It is registered as Whitestone Document Services.”
Savannah sat down at the edge of the hotel bed.
“Document services.”
“Yes.”
“That sounds fake.”
“It sounds generic.”
“Same thing.”
Claire did not laugh.
Savannah appreciated that.
Humor was easy when something happened to someone else.
“Do you know who owns it?”
“We are trying to confirm that.”
“How did they get involved?”
“That is what I am trying to understand.”
Claire sounded different than she had the first day.
Less cautious.
More focused.
“I found the payment because I reviewed the file history again,” Claire continued.
“There was a fee listed as administrative preparation.”
“Paid by who?”
“Your brother.”
Savannah closed her eyes.
Of course.
Every path kept returning to Kevin.
“But you said the sender was not Kevin.”
“Correct.”
“Then why would he pay them?”
“That is something you need to ask him.”
Savannah looked at the phone.
She had spent her entire life explaining Kevin’s behavior to herself.
He was careless.
He was overwhelmed.
He meant well.
He was not malicious.
Those explanations had protected her from a painful possibility.
That he could love her and still hurt her.
That both things could be true.
She called Kevin again.
He did not answer.
She called a second time.
Still nothing.
She sent a message.
I need to talk to you today.
No accusation.
No anger.
Just a sentence.
The reply came fifteen minutes later.
I’m busy.
Savannah stared at the words.
She almost typed something cruel.
Instead, she deleted the message and put the phone down.
That was new.
A month earlier, she would have chased him.
She would have tried to make him understand.
She would have rewritten her own feelings into something easier for him to accept.
Now she was tired.
Not hopeless.
Just tired.
Marcus called while she was sitting in the hotel lobby.
“I found something about Whitestone.”
Savannah stood and walked outside.
“What?”
“It is a small company.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning it has one listed employee.”
“Who?”
“Caleb Morgan.”
The name meant nothing.
“Does he know Kevin?”
“Probably.”
“That’s not helpful.”
“No.”
Marcus sounded almost amused.
“I’m being careful.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
She waited.
“Caleb Morgan was a former assistant at a real estate office in town.”
“Former?”
May you like
“Yes.”
“Why is that important?”
