Chapter 5
I didn't go home that night.
Grandma insisted I stay at her house.
She lived in a quiet neighborhood outside Atlanta, in the same small brick home where Dad had grown up.
The moment we arrived, she made tea.
Then she sat beside me at the kitchen table.
Neither of us spoke for several minutes.
Finally, she reached for my hand.
"Clara, I should have told you sooner."
I looked up.
"Told me what?"
She closed her eyes.
"Your sister has been asking questions about your inheritance for years."
My chest tightened.
"What questions?"
Grandma sighed.
"She wanted to know whether your father could change his will after his death."
I stared at her.
"That's impossible."
"I know."
"Then why would she ask?"
Grandma looked exhausted.
"Because she couldn't accept the answer."
I glanced toward the window.
For years, I'd defended Vanessa.
Whenever relatives complained about her behavior, I reminded them she'd lost Dad too.
Whenever she made cruel comments, I told myself she was grieving.
But now I wondered how much I'd ignored because I wanted my sister back.
Grandma continued.
"After your father died, Vanessa contacted the estate attorney several times."
I frowned.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Because the attorney believed the matter was settled."
She squeezed my hand.
"And because Vanessa promised she'd accepted the arrangement."
I laughed bitterly.
"She didn't."
"No."
I looked down at Dad's letter.
"Grandma, was he fair?"
She studied me.
"What do you mean?"
"Did he really treat us fairly?"
Grandma's expression softened.
"Clara, fairness doesn't always mean identical gifts."
I nodded.
"But Vanessa says he loved me more."
Grandma shook her head.
"Your father loved both of you. He made mistakes with Vanessa, and he knew it."
She paused.
"He helped her financially for years because he felt guilty."
I stared at her.
"How much?"
Grandma hesitated.
"Enough that he eventually had to set boundaries."
My stomach tightened.
"What boundaries?"
She reached into a drawer.
Then pulled out an old folder.
Inside were copies of letters from Dad's attorney.
I read through them.
Vanessa had received help with a mortgage.
A business loan.
Legal expenses from her first divorce.
And several personal debts.
The amounts stunned me.
I looked at Grandma.
"She told me she paid for everything herself."
Grandma shook her head.
"She didn't."
I felt sick.
Not because Vanessa had received help.
I would never begrudge my sister support from our father.
But she'd spent years telling me I was spoiled.
That I inherited everything.
That she'd built her life without assistance.
And now I was looking at evidence that told a different story.
Grandma touched my shoulder.
"Your father eventually realized money wasn't solving Vanessa's unhappiness."
I swallowed.
"So he stopped?"
"He helped her create a financial plan, but he wouldn't keep paying every debt."
I stared at the folder.
"And she blamed me."
Grandma nodded sadly.
"Yes."
My phone began ringing.
Daniel.
I stared at his name.
Grandma glanced at the screen.
"You don't have to answer."
I hesitated.
Then picked up.
"Hello?"
"Clara?"
His voice sounded exhausted.
"Hi, Daniel."
"I'm sorry to call so late."
"It's okay."
He took a shaky breath.
"I wanted to apologize."
My eyes filled.
"You didn't do anything."
"I should have asked more questions."
I looked down.
"About what?"
"Vanessa's stories."
He was quiet for a moment.
"She told me you refused to help your family."
My throat tightened.
"What?"
"She said your father left you everything, and she was struggling."
I closed my eyes.
Daniel continued.
"She told me she'd supported you financially for years."
I laughed in disbelief.
"Daniel, I've worked since I was sixteen."
"I know that now."
I pressed a hand against my forehead.
He sighed.
"She also told me you were refusing to transfer a small ownership interest in the property."
I stared at the wall.
"She said it was small?"
"Yes."
I swallowed.
"Daniel, it's my entire home."
"I understand."
There was a long pause.
Then he whispered, "I don't know who I married."
The words broke my heart.
I wasn't happy that Daniel was suffering.
He had treated me kindly since the day we met.
He sent flowers when I graduated.
He helped repair my car once.
He called me his little sister.
Now he'd married someone who had lied about almost everything.
I whispered, "I'm sorry."
He exhaled.
"So am I."
Then his voice changed.
"Clara, there's something I need to ask."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"Did Vanessa ever ask you to sign a loan guarantee?"
I sat upright.
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
He was silent.
Then he said, "I found a document in her wedding folder."
My pulse quickened.
"What kind?"
"A financing application."
I gripped the phone.
"And?"
"Your name is listed as a guarantor."
For a moment, I couldn't breathe.
"Daniel."
"I know."
"I never agreed to that."
His voice shook.
"I believe you."
I stood so quickly my chair scraped the floor.
Grandma looked alarmed.
I covered the phone.
"Grandma, there's another document."
She rose immediately.
I turned back to Daniel.
"Can you send it to me?"
"Yes. I'm also sending it to an attorney."
I swallowed.
"Thank you."
He hesitated.
"Clara, I need to tell you one more thing."
My heart pounded.
"What?"
"The signature looks like yours."
I stared at the wall.
I remembered signing forms at Vanessa's house two years earlier.
She'd said they were related to a charity fundraiser.
I hadn't read every page carefully.
I trusted her.
My stomach twisted.
"Daniel, when was it signed?"
He gave me the date.
Six months earlier.
I shook my head.
"I wasn't even in Atlanta that week."
He went quiet.
I continued.
"I was in Nashville for a work conference."
Daniel exhaled sharply.
"Then we have a serious problem."
When the call ended, I sat down slowly.
Grandma placed her hand on my shoulder.
"Clara?"
I looked at her.
My voice was barely audible.
"Vanessa may have forged my signature."
Grandma closed her eyes.
Then she whispered something I never expected.
"Your father warned me she might try."
I stared at her.
"What?"
Grandma looked toward the old family photographs on the wall.
"He left instructions with his attorney."
My pulse quickened.
"What instructions?"
She turned back to me.
May you like
"To protect you if Vanessa ever tried to take the house."
And suddenly, I realized my father might have understood my sister better than I ever had.
