Chapter 3
I thought I had misunderstood my son.
"What does my house have to do with your wedding?"
Ethan looked away.
Madison answered before he could.
"Nothing. He's confused."
Robert folded his arms.
"Then perhaps you should let him speak."
Madison's eyes flashed.
"This is a private conversation."
"So is the ownership of Claire's home," Robert replied.
Ethan ran a hand through his hair.
He looked exhausted.
"Mom, Madison told me you were thinking about selling."
I stared at him.
"Who told her that?"
He hesitated.
"She said you mentioned it."
"I haven't discussed selling my home with anyone."
Madison shook her head.
"Claire, don't pretend."
"Why would I sell the house Daniel and I built together?"
"Because it's too big for one person."
The words struck me harder than I expected.
My house wasn't just an expensive property.
It held thirty-four years of marriage.
Daniel had installed the kitchen shelves himself.
Ethan's childhood height marks were still inside the pantry door.
The backyard oak tree had been planted the afternoon we brought our son home from the hospital.
I had no intention of leaving.
Ethan looked confused.
"But you told us you wanted something smaller."
"No," I said firmly.
He turned toward Madison.
"Then where did that come from?"
She lifted her chin.
"She changes her mind constantly."
Robert's voice became very quiet.
"Madison, have you discussed a sale with a real estate agent?"
Her face stiffened.
"Of course not."
I might have believed her if Lauren hadn't suddenly spoken.
"That's not what you told me."
Madison spun toward her.
"Lauren, shut up."
My heart began pounding.
"What did she tell you?"
Lauren looked miserable.
"She said Claire was moving into a retirement community after the wedding."
I stared at her.
"She said what?"
Lauren swallowed.
"She told me you were giving Ethan the house."
Ethan stepped back.
"No. That's not what she told me."
Everyone looked at him.
He rubbed his forehead.
"She said Mom wanted us to live there temporarily while we saved for a place."
"That isn't true," I said.
Madison's face turned bright red.
"Can everyone stop making me the villain?"
Robert asked one simple question.
"Who arranged the appraisal?"
Madison went completely still.
I looked at him.
"Appraisal?"
Robert's expression was controlled, but I knew him too well.
He was worried.
"Claire, I received an inquiry last Thursday from a real estate office regarding the Whitmore property."
My knees weakened.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I left a voicemail. I assumed you would return it."
I remembered.
I had been helping prepare the rehearsal dinner.
A message from Robert had slipped my mind.
"What inquiry?"
"They asked whether the property could be transferred as part of an early inheritance arrangement."
I stared at Ethan.
He looked as stunned as I felt.
"An inheritance?" I whispered.
Madison started talking rapidly.
"It was only a hypothetical question."
Robert turned to her.
"So you did contact someone?"
She paused.
Too late.
The truth was already standing in the room.
"Fine. I asked questions."
"Without Claire's knowledge?"
"I was helping Ethan plan our future!"
"Our future?" Ethan repeated.
Madison looked at him desperately.
"Baby, please."
But I couldn't stop thinking about the word inheritance.
Inheritance usually came after someone died.
And I was very much alive.
I looked toward the hallway window.
Outside, guests stood beneath the garden canopy, uncertain whether the wedding would continue.
A florist hurried past carrying a bucket of roses.
Somewhere downstairs, a child cried.
I felt as though I had wandered into someone else's nightmare.
"Robert," I said, "can we speak privately?"
"Of course."
Natalie offered us the library.
It was a quiet room at the back of Bellamy House, lined with old books and overlooking the grounds.
I walked there with my torn dress held tightly against me.
Robert followed.
When the door closed, I finally began shaking.
He pulled out a chair.
"Claire, sit down."
"I don't understand."
"I know."
"I thought she was just angry about wedding arrangements."
Robert sat opposite me.
"Tell me something. Has Ethan asked you to sign any paperwork recently?"
I thought carefully.
"No."
"Has Madison?"
I almost said no.
Then I remembered a visit six weeks earlier.
Madison had brought a folder to my kitchen table.
She said it contained documents for a life insurance policy she and Ethan were purchasing.
She wanted to know whether Daniel's estate information could help them understand beneficiary designations.
I had refused to sign anything because I wanted Robert to review it first.
At the time, she had seemed merely disappointed.
Now I remembered how abruptly her manner changed.
"She brought paperwork," I whispered.
Robert leaned forward.
"What kind?"
"I didn't read all of it."
"Did she leave a copy?"
I nodded.
"I put it in Daniel's desk."
Robert exhaled.
"Good."
I stared at him.
"Do you think she was trying to take my house?"
"I don't know yet. But we need to find out."
A knock interrupted us.
Lauren stood outside.
Her eyes were red.
"Claire, I'm sorry."
I invited her in.
She closed the door carefully.
"I should have said something weeks ago."
Robert looked at her.
"About what?"
Lauren took a trembling breath.
"Madison has been telling people that after the honeymoon, she'll be living in Claire's house."
I felt sick.
"Why?"
Lauren reached into her handbag.
She removed a folded brochure.
The cover showed a luxury waterfront condominium development.
Across the top were the words:
PRIVATE RESIDENCES FROM $2.8 MILLION.
I frowned.
"What's this?"
Lauren looked directly at me.
"Madison said Ethan would get his inheritance early."
May you like
Then she added something that made my blood run cold.
"She told me the sale of your house would pay for their new life."
