Chapter 4
By nine on Sunday morning, Grandma had gathered us around her dining table.
She had already dressed for the Long Table. Her apron hung over the back of a chair. The sight of it steadied me.
Ms. Reyes sat across from Dad with the Aster agreement and the invoice spread before her. Joyce and Eddie joined us. Vanessa arrived last, without Liam.
“I have guests at the hotel,” she said.
“Then answer clearly so you can return to them,” Grandma replied.
Ms. Reyes pointed to the agreement. “This gives Aster temporary authority to manage the restaurant once the owners sign the final schedule. Margaret hasn’t signed it.”
“She was going to,” Dad said.
“I wasn’t,” Grandma answered. “I hadn’t seen it.”
“The deposit agreement is separate,” Ms. Reyes continued. “Richard signed it for the operating company. He also promised Aster that the equipment listed here had been purchased.”
Dad stared at the invoice.
“I relied on Vanessa’s records,” he said.
Vanessa crossed her arms. “The equipment is on order.”
“Then why does the invoice say it was delivered?” Eddie asked.
She looked at him with open irritation. “The supplier used the wrong form.”
“And Nora’s signature?” Ms. Reyes asked.
“That could have been scanned from another document.”
“Who scanned it?”
Vanessa looked away.
Ms. Reyes waited. I appreciated that she did not fill the silence for my sister.
Finally Vanessa said, “I asked my assistant to prepare the packet. I didn’t examine every page.”
“Give me her name,” Ms. Reyes said. “I’ll ask her directly.”
Vanessa hesitated.
Grandma pushed back her chair. “I’m going to my restaurant. Nora, will you come?”
“I will.”
“We’re still talking,” Vanessa said.
“We will talk again when you bring the person who prepared those pages.”
Dad rose too. “I’m coming.”
Grandma looked at him. “Bring your keys. You’ll turn over the office records to Ms. Reyes before the meal begins.”
I had never heard her speak to him that way. He nodded and followed.
At the Blue Lantern, a line had already formed outside. Some guests came every week. Others had heard there might be trouble and showed up early to help. Mrs. Bell from the library carried two trays of cornbread. A retired teacher named Mr. Ames brought bags of apples.
Eddie opened the kitchen. I tied on my apron, checked our supplies, and gave everyone a job.
For four hours, I barely thought about Aster. I stirred soup, sliced bread, and listened to people ask for seconds. Grandma moved between tables, greeting guests by name.
Then I saw Claire Weller come through the front door.
She wore jeans and a plain jacket instead of her green suit. She stopped beside the hostess stand and watched the room.
“You’re welcome to eat,” I said.
“I came to speak with you and Margaret.”
“After service.”
She looked at the full tables. “All right.”
I expected her to leave. Instead, she helped Mrs. Bell carry a stack of clean bowls. I did not know what to make of that.
At two, the last guests began to go. Grandma joined us at a corner booth. Claire sat opposite her.
“I spoke to our legal team,” Claire said. “Aster will not take control Monday.”
I let out a breath I had been holding since the wedding.
“The men at the door?” Grandma asked.
“Contractors sent too early. I’ve canceled the lock change.”
Claire placed a folder on the table. “I also reviewed the equipment invoice. Aster transferred that part of the advance to the Blue Lantern operating account. We were told the supplier had been paid from there.”
Dad, who had been standing behind Grandma, sat down.
“Was it?” Ms. Reyes asked. She had arrived with copies of the office records.
“We don’t know yet,” Claire said. “I’m asking for proof before any further payment.”
Dad looked at Vanessa, who stood near the counter.
“Who handles the operating account?” I asked.
“I do,” Dad said. “Vanessa has signing authority for the expansion project.”
Vanessa came over. “I can get the receipt.”
“When?” Ms. Reyes asked.
“Tomorrow.”
“Today would be better,” Claire said.
Vanessa’s gaze moved from face to face. “You’re treating me like I stole something.”
“I’m asking where the money went,” Grandma said.
Vanessa looked wounded. “After everything I did to find an investor?”
“You can answer the question,” I said.
She left without doing it.
I found Dad in the office a few minutes later. He was turning pages in a bank statement with shaking hands.
“Anything?” I asked.
He pointed to a transfer for the same amount as the invoice.
It had not gone to Harbor Provisioning.
It had gone to an account marked V. MERCER EVENTS.
My sister’s event company.
Dad closed his eyes. “I signed the authorization.”
“Did you know it was her account?”
May you like
“No.”
I wanted to ask why he had signed without looking. Before I could, he whispered, “I kept hoping she knew what she was doing.”
