Chapter 7
The lake cabin belonged to Edward.
Or it had.
Arthur thought it stayed in the trust.
Brandon thought the same.
Gene had sold it six months earlier.
For cash.
To a company called Silverline Holdings.
Melissa showed us the file.
Arthur’s signature was on the sale.
So was Brandon’s.
Both forged.
Brandon looked at Gene.
“You forged my name?”
Gene’s lips thinned.
“I protected family assets.”
“You stole them.”
Arthur’s voice was quiet.
That made it more powerful.
Gene turned on him.
“Don’t you dare speak to me like that.”
Arthur looked exhausted.
“I should have started years ago.”
Melissa called the county recorder.
Within minutes, the sale was flagged.
But Silverline had already filed demolition permits.
The cabin was scheduled to be torn down after New Year’s.
Brandon went pale.
“My grandfather’s journals are there.”
Gene snapped, “Old paper. Worthless.”
Melissa looked sharply at her.
“What journals?”
Brandon answered.
“Granddad kept records of every family trust decision. Every conflict. Every payment.”
Gene’s eyes flickered.
There it was.
Fear.
The cabin sale was not about money.
It was about destroying whatever Edward had written before he died.
We drove there that afternoon with Melissa and Arthur following.
The lake road was icy.
Holly slept in the back seat with the red velvet box in her lap.
I watched her in the mirror.
This had started with a candle.
Now we were chasing forged deeds and buried family secrets.
At the cabin, the front door was open.
Brandon ran inside.
The living room had been torn apart.
Shelves emptied.
Drawers dumped.
A picture of Edward lay smashed on the floor.
Arthur lifted it with shaking hands.
Then we heard a noise from the basement.
A slow scrape.
May you like
Brandon grabbed my arm.
“Stay behind me.”
