Chương 7
“That doesn’t give you my share.”
“I know that.”
“Do you?”
Caroline pressed her lips together.
“I thought if I controlled the chalet, I could sell it when we needed to and keep Mom from panicking.”
“By lying to her.”
“Yes.”
The answer was so flat that Emily paused.
Caroline looked at the snowy window.
“I told myself it was temporary.”
“A forged deed?”
“I told myself Dad was dead, Mom was overwhelmed, you’d fight every decision because you always fight me, and somebody had to make things happen.”
“That is not an explanation that makes you look better.”
“I’m not trying to look better.”
“Then why bring Daniel into it?”
Caroline laughed bitterly.
“Because the title people wanted an acknowledgment from him due to the paperwork your father had used when he reorganized the ownership. I didn’t know if it actually mattered. I just knew they asked.”
“And you told him it was insurance.”
“Yes.”
Emily closed her eyes.
“Why?”
“Because if I told him what it was, he’d tell you.”
“So the debt mattered.”
“Yes.”
There it was.
Not a misunderstanding.
Not a document Caroline had thought her father intended to complete.
A chain of choices.
One after another.
Emily felt strangely calmer.
“Did you threaten him?”
“No.”
“Did you remind him he owed you money?”
Caroline hesitated.
“Yes.”
“What did you say?”
“That I had helped him when he needed it, and I needed him to help me.”
Emily looked toward the hallway.
“My husband is an idiot.”
Caroline almost smiled.
“Yes.”
“He’s also not the person who forged Mom’s name.”
“No.”
“Then who sent me the message?”
“I told you, I didn’t.”
Emily studied her.
For the first time, she believed her.
“Who else knows?”
Caroline looked uneasy.
“The realtor knows something’s wrong.”
“Why?”
“Because I canceled today’s visit when I saw your car coming up the road.”
“You saw us?”
“From the upstairs window.”
“That’s why you said I wasn’t supposed to come today.”
“Yes.”
Emily thought about their changed travel plans. Their original flight had been canceled. Daniel had found two seats through Denver late the previous night, getting them to the mountains nearly eighteen hours sooner than expected.
Caroline had expected an empty house.
“What were you going to do?”
“Get an appraisal. Pack some of Dad’s financial records. Meet the realtor.”
“Before the funeral.”
“I wasn’t planning a sale today.”
“You were getting ready.”
“Yes.”
Emily stood.
Caroline watched her.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling Mom.”
“Emily.”
“She deserves to know you admitted it.”
“Not over the phone.”
“She deserves to know now.”
“She’s barely sleeping.”
“Whose fault is that?”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
Emily stopped.
“What?”
“You want truth to function like medicine. You think if it’s morally correct, you can just administer it.”
Emily stared at her.
Caroline’s voice shook.
“Mom buried her husband in her head three days ago. She hasn’t even done it in real life yet. You tell her this now, and she spends the funeral deciding whether her daughter is a criminal.”
“You did this now.”
“I know.”
“Then you don’t get to complain about timing.”
“I’m asking you to wait two days.”
Emily picked up her phone.
Caroline’s face went pale.
“Please.”
Emily looked at her sister.
That word had always been rare from Caroline.
“Two days,” Caroline said. “Let her bury him.”
Emily’s thumb hovered over their mother’s name.
She hated that Caroline had made an argument she understood.
She hated more that understanding it felt like complicity.
The phone rang in her hand before she decided.
Daniel.
Emily almost rejected it.
Then she answered.
“What?”
His breathing was audible.
“Are you at the house?”
“Yes.”
“Is Caroline there?”
Emily looked across the island.
“Yes.”
“Margaret?”
“Left.”
“Em, I know who sent the text.”
Caroline frowned.
Emily straightened.
“Who?”
“I think it was Brett.”
“Who is Brett?”
“The guy who works for Caroline’s realtor.”
Caroline’s expression changed.
Daniel continued. “He called me this morning. He said he needs to talk to you.”
Caroline stepped forward.
“Hang up.”
Emily stared at her.
Daniel heard.
“Is that Caroline?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t let her leave.”
Caroline laughed incredulously.
“I’m standing right here.”
Daniel said, “Emily, he has emails.”
Caroline’s face emptied.
Emily lowered the phone slightly.
“What emails?”
Caroline reached for her coat.
Emily stepped between her and the mudroom.
“Move.”
“No.”
“I’m not your prisoner.”
“I know.”
“Then move.”
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“To delete something?”
Caroline stared at her.
“That’s who you think I am now?”
Emily glanced toward the boxes in the foyer.
“I don’t know who you are.”
The words hurt both of them.
Caroline’s face changed.
She took her hand off the coat.
Daniel said through the phone, “Brett says he got nervous when she asked whether the title company could finish everything if your mother wasn’t available in person.”
Caroline closed her eyes.
Emily asked, “Where is he?”
“At the hotel.”
“You’re with him?”
“He came here.”
“Why?”
“He saw your number in an email Caroline forwarded.”
Emily looked at her sister.
Caroline whispered something under her breath.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“No. Say it.”
“I said he’s an idiot.”
Daniel heard.
“He’s also scared.”
Emily almost laughed at the symmetry.
Apparently everyone around Caroline became frightened eventually.
“Put him on.”
A male voice came through.
“Emily?”
“Yes.”
“Hi. I’m Brett Lawson. I’m an assistant at Pine Ridge Realty.”
Emily looked at Caroline.
“I know who you are now.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. This is weird.”
“Tell me about the text.”
“I sent it.”
“Why?”
A pause.
“Because I thought your husband was involved.”
Daniel muttered something in the background.
Brett continued quickly. “Caroline sent us a packet from Daniel’s email address. Or forwarded from it. It had his signature. When I saw you guys arrive yesterday, I recognized him from a photo.”
“What photo?”
“Caroline had emailed my boss a family picture so we knew which personal items weren’t part of the staging.”
Emily stared at her sister.
May you like
Caroline looked away.
“So you sent me a warning.”
