Chapter 5 - The Table Turns
"Arthur, don't climb the stairs, please! Think of your blood pressure!" Mom's voice was shrill, laced with panic, coming from the top of the landing.
Dad appeared in the doorway a moment later. He leaned heavily on an ash-wood walking cane, his breathing labored and shallow. His face was chalky white, but his eyes were blazing with pure, unadulterated fury. Behind him, Aunt Celia and Cousin Tim hovered like vultures, peering over his shoulders into the bedroom.
"Is that it?" Dad wheezed, his cane trembling against the floorboards as he stared at the mountain of cash and the gleaming gold watch lying at Chloe’s feet. "Is that what you came back for, Elias?"
"Dad, listen to me—" I started, but Dad raised the cane, pointing the brass tip straight at my chest.
"Do not speak to me!" he roared, coughing violently as the strain ripped through his chest. "I raised you. I gave you my father's name. And you repay me by breaking into my safe? Stealing your grandmother's watch? Trying to liquidate the land my grandfather cleared with his bare hands?"
"Arthur, calm down," Uncle Vance said smoothly, stepping to Dad's side and placing a steadying hand on his shoulder. "We have the evidence now. The boy is caught red-handed. The best thing we can do is handle this quietly within the family. We don't need the police embarrassing the family name in town. Elias, sign the waiver of executorship Vance has prepared, hand over your keys, and get out of this state. If you do that, Arthur won't press charges."
Mom stepped into the room, tears streaming down her wrinkled cheeks, looking down at the cash. "Elias... how could you? Why would you do this to your father?"
I didn't answer her right away. I looked at the ring of faces surrounding me.
My sister, clutching her chest, looking like the wounded victim.
Uncle Vance, standing tall, the benevolent savior offering an 'out.'
Dad, broken, gasping for air, clutching his cane like a weapon.
And Marcus, standing silently in the corner, his fists clenched tight at his sides.
"It's a very neat setup, Vance," I said calmly, crossing my arms. "Except for one tiny detail you and Chloe completely overlooked."
Chloe snapped her head toward me. "There's no detail, Elias! You're caught! Just sign the papers and leave!"
"The safe," I said, looking directly at my father. "Dad, where did you keep Grandma's watch and the foundation cash?"
Dad blinked, thrown off by the question, his chest heaving. "In the floor safe. In my study behind the desk. You know damn well where it was."
"Right," I nodded. "And what is the combination to that safe, Dad?"
"It’s your mother's birthday and the old house number," Dad rasped, his brows furrowing in confusion. "Why the hell are you asking me this?"
"Because," I said, reaching slowly into my front pocket, "I haven't lived in this house for six years. But Chloe has been living here for the past three months. And Uncle Vance has been 'helping' you with your finances every Tuesday afternoon."
I pulled out my phone and held it up.
"What does your phone have to do with anything?" Vance snapped, his voice suddenly losing its calm, paternal tone. "Arthur, don't listen to him. He's stalling. He's trying to manipulate you."
"Dad," I said, ignoring Vance entirely. "Look at the stacks of cash on the floor. Look at the paper bands holding the hundred-dollar bills together."
Dad's eyes drifted down to the money on the rug.
"Those bands aren't from the First National Bank in town," I continued, stepping forward and tapping one of the wrappers with the toe of my boot. "They’re stamped with the logo of the Buckeye Commercial Vault in Cleveland. Dad, have you ever banked in Cleveland?"
Dad hesitated. "No. Never."
"Does Uncle Vance have an office in Cleveland?" I asked.
Silence fell over the bedroom like a wet wool blanket. Aunt Celia looked at her husband Vance, her eyes suddenly wide. "Vance... what is he talking about?"
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"He's making things up!" Vance barked, taking a step toward me, his hand tightening into a fist. "He's a cornered animal trying to drag everyone down with him!"
"Marcus," I called out, never taking my eyes off Vance. "Show my father your phone."
