Chapter 11 - Gregory’s VersionGregory asked to speak with Harper.
Naomi said no.
He asked again through his attorney.
Still no.
Then he wrote a letter.
Naomi read it first.
So did Rachel.
They let Harper decide whether she wanted it.
She did.
The first sentence made her angry.
HARPER, I NEVER WANTED THINGS TO GO AS FAR AS THEY DID.
She almost stopped.
Instead she continued.
Gregory wrote that after Claire died, he had been overwhelmed.
Debts accumulated.
The trust limited how much he could withdraw for household expenses.
Brandon reappeared and began pressuring him to give up guardianship.
He offered money.
Gregory accepted.
Then Brandon delayed the final payment.
Gregory began gambling again.
The daily cash demands started.
None of it was an excuse.
Gregory admitted that.
At least in the letter.
I KEPT TELLING MYSELF I WAS ANGRY AT BRANDON.
BUT I TOOK IT OUT ON YOU.
Harper’s jaw tightened.
Lily sat nearby drawing.
She did not want to hear the letter.
Gregory continued:
BRANDON KNEW I WAS SENDING YOU OUT FOR MONEY.
HE HAD A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR WATCHING THE HOUSE.
HE TOLD ME ONCE, “IF THEY LOOK UNHAPPY, THAT HELPS MY CASE.”
Harper stopped.
Naomi watched her.
“Do you want to continue?”
“Yes.”
Gregory claimed Brandon never explicitly told him to hurt the girls.
But he knew conditions were deteriorating.
Instead of calling authorities immediately, Brandon documented them.
Then waited until the evidence was strong enough to obtain emergency custody.
Harper remembered his words.
I was building a case.
She hated that sentence now.
Gregory’s letter ended with information.
BRANDON IS NOT TRYING TO SELL HAVENRIDGE ONLY FOR MONEY.
THERE IS SOMETHING UNDER THE PROPERTY THAT MAKES MORROW’S OFFER WORTH MUCH MORE.
Harper showed Naomi.
Daniel Cho researched the land.
Two days later he returned with maps.
Havenridge sat beside a proposed highway expansion.
Morrow Development had quietly purchased neighboring parcels through several companies.
If Havenridge sold, Morrow would control the only practical access route from the highway to a planned luxury resort.
Without Havenridge, the development was fragmented.
With it, the land package could be worth more than twenty million dollars.
Rachel stared at the map.
“So eight million was a bargain.”
Daniel nodded.
“And Brandon knows?”
“He appears to.”
“How?”
“One of Morrow’s consultants previously worked with Northstar Renovations.”
The old fraud and the new deal were connected.
Harper looked at Daniel.
“If we own the road, why sell?”
“You don’t have to.”
“Can Dad make us?”
“Not if the independent trustee remains.”
“That’s why he wants the trustee removed.”
“Yes.”
Harper finally understood the full shape.
Brandon did not simply want custody because he was their father.
He needed legal influence over them.
He needed to show the current trust arrangement was failing.
Gregory’s neglect helped prove that.
Then Brandon could argue that he, as biological parent, should control more financial decisions.
He had not created Gregory’s cruelty.
But he had watched it become useful.
Rachel said quietly, “He treated their suffering like evidence.”
Naomi’s expression hardened.
“Yes.”
Harper looked toward the window.
“Can we go to Havenridge?”
Rachel hesitated.
“Why?”
“I want to see what they’re fighting over.”
They went Saturday.
Harper walked through the huge quiet house.
She expected it to feel like treasure.
It did not.
It felt like old wood.
Dust.
Sunlight.
A place where Claire had once been a child.
In the sewing room, Harper touched the table where the documents had been hidden.
Lily came beside her.
“Is this why Gregory hurt us?”
“No.”
Harper realized she believed that.
“Gregory hurt us because Gregory chose to.”
“And Dad?”
“Dad chose too.”
Lily thought about it.
“What did we choose?”
Harper looked at her sister.
“So far?”
“Yes.”
“We kept telling.”
Lily nodded.
“That’s good.”
They turned toward the door.
A sound came from downstairs.
Rachel called their names.
Her voice was tense.
Harper grabbed Lily’s hand.
When they reached the foyer, Daniel stood holding an envelope someone had pushed beneath the front door.
No stamp.
No address.
One sentence was printed inside.
DROP THE FRAUD CLAIM OR HAVENRIDGE WILL COST YOU MORE THAN MONEY.
Rachel immediately called police.
May you like
Harper stared at the message.
For the first time, she wondered whether Brandon was the only person who needed Claire’s evidence buried.
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