Chapter 4
“Authorization for what?” I asked.
Lena was quiet for a beat.
“To request an appraisal of Carter House and the adjoining land. The request was made in your name.”
I looked at Ethan.
“They sent someone to value the property.”
He straightened.
“Without telling us?”
Lena heard him.
“The appraiser’s report was sent to George Mitchell’s office yesterday,” she said. “I’m still checking who ordered it.”
I thought of the maintenance worker who had come by Carter House last week. He had asked unusually careful questions about the roof and the rear acreage.
I had been out of town. Ruth had let him through the gate because he carried an appointment confirmation.
“Lena, I think someone visited the property.”
“Send me everything you know. I’m contacting the appraisal firm.”
When I ended the call, Ethan was already reaching for his phone.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“To tell George this ends now.”
“He knows.”
“I need him to hear it from me.”
I touched his arm.
“You’re hurting. Let Lena handle the documents tonight.”
He looked toward the ring on the desk.
“I was going to marry her in six weeks.”
“I know.”
“I asked you to trust me.”
“And I did. Trust doesn’t mean I stop asking questions when something is wrong.”
He nodded, though it seemed to cost him.
The house manager found me dry shoes and a coat. I wanted to leave before I spoke to anyone else.
At the front hall, Noah stood near the doors.
“I can bring the car around,” he said.
“I came by taxi.”
“I’ll arrange one.”
His manager approached fast.
“Noah,” she said, “Vanessa says you’ve been discussing private matters with guests. She wants you removed from tonight’s schedule.”
Noah’s face went pale.
“He wasn’t discussing anything with a guest,” Ethan said. “He was helping my mother.”
The manager blinked.
“I wasn’t aware.”
“You are now,” I told her. “Please make sure he’s paid for his full shift.”
Noah looked relieved, then embarrassed to be seen looking relieved.
Vanessa appeared at the top of the stairs.
“You’re really taking his side too?”
“He offered me a towel,” I said.
“He was listening at doors.”
“He was working in your house.”
Patricia came up behind her daughter and put a hand on her shoulder.
“Vanessa has had a terrible shock. Everyone has.”
I waited.
No apology followed.
Ethan opened the front door for me.
Outside, a few guests stood beside their cars. The man who had filmed me earlier lowered his phone when he saw my face.
“I have the video,” he said awkwardly. “I can delete it.”
“What’s your name?”
“Martin.”
“Keep the original, Martin. Lena Ortiz will contact you.”
His eyes widened.
I got into the taxi with Ethan beside me.
For the first ten minutes, he said nothing.
Then he asked, “Did you really dress that way to test her?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I had heard things about how she treated people working at her events. I needed to see for myself.”
“You could have told me.”
“I should have.”
He looked out the window.
“I might not have believed you.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
We stopped at my house in Green Hills. Ethan carried my damp bag inside and set it on the kitchen table.
He stayed while I made tea.
“I don’t like that you were humiliated,” he said.
“I don’t either.”
“And I don’t like that you planned a test without me knowing.”
“You’re right.”
He looked surprised.
“I let you walk into a painful scene,” I said. “I thought I could bear it. I didn’t consider what it would do to you when you found me there.”
“I still would rather know what she’s like.”
“So would I.”
Ruth called the next morning.
The appraiser had confirmed his appointment came from an email that looked like mine. It was not my account.
The message included details only someone close to Ethan would know.
“Could Vanessa have seen those details?” Ruth asked.
“Yes,” Ethan said from across my kitchen. “I showed her the property plans.”
Ruth hesitated.
“There’s more. The appraisal mentions a proposed road across the south field.”
I set down my cup.
“That field is protected under the Carter House preservation agreement.”
“George’s development plans depend on access through it,” Ruth said.
I pictured the old trees and the narrow path Ethan’s father had cleared with his own hands.
“The agreement forbids that road,” I said.
“George’s lawyer claims an amendment is being prepared.”
I felt Ethan move beside me.
“Who approved an amendment?” he asked.
May you like
Ruth’s answer was quiet.
“It bears your mother’s signature.”
