Chapter 6
Sienna slept for fourteen hours.
Audrey stayed beside her for most of them at our house. I brought food upstairs and found the two sisters sharing the narrow guest bed, their hands linked on top of the blanket.
I set down the tray and quietly left.
Julian was waiting in the hall.
“How is she?”
“Sleeping. Audrey too, I think.”
He looked toward the closed door.
“She may never forgive me for that first hour.”
“She needs time,” I said.
“I know.”
He went downstairs without asking me to soften it for him.
By afternoon, the police had taken statements from all of us. They told Audrey that Daniel was being held while they examined the evidence and investigated what had happened at Bell Creek. I was relieved to hear it, though the officer made no promises about what would come next.
The evidence was more complicated than I had hoped.
The account Sienna’s grandfather created still existed, but much of the money was gone. Some transfers had been made years ago. Others were recent. A lawyer would have to trace them.
Audrey read the copied records at our kitchen table. Sienna sat beside her, turning a spoon between her fingers.
“Did he spend all of it?” she asked.
“We don’t know yet,” Audrey said.
Sienna nodded, but I saw how hard she gripped the spoon.
“Grandpa said it was for school. I wanted to study plants.”
“You still can,” I told her.
She gave me a small, uncertain smile.
Evelyn arrived after lunch. Audrey let her in. They spoke on the porch for almost an hour while I kept Sienna company.
When Audrey returned, her eyes were red.
“She apologized,” she said.
“Did you believe her?” Sienna asked.
“Yes. I also told her I’m angry she stopped coming to see us.”
Evelyn followed her inside.
“And she has every right to be.”
Sienna went to Evelyn and hugged her. Audrey watched, then moved close enough for Evelyn to put an arm around her too. It was awkward and brief. It was a start.
That evening, the officer brought a copy of Marianne’s recording. Audrey asked whether she and Sienna could listen in private. They went into the living room. I stayed in the kitchen with Richard and Julian.
We heard Marianne’s voice through the door, too low to make out. Then there was silence for a long time.
When the sisters came back, Sienna carried the recorder.
“Mom knew Dad might tell us she didn’t care,” she said. “She wanted us to hear her say she loved us.”
Audrey sat beside her.
“She talked about the account too. She said the records were with her letters. She asked Evelyn to help us if she couldn’t.”
Evelyn wiped her cheek.
“I wish I’d found a way sooner.”
Sienna reached for her hand.
“You came when I called.”
Before Evelyn could answer, the doorbell rang.
A woman stood on our porch in a dark suit with a leather folder. She introduced herself as Nora Price, an attorney appointed to represent Sienna’s interests in a separate proceeding concerning her finances.
“I apologize for arriving without more notice,” she said. “I spoke with the officer. Sienna may decide whether she wants to meet me.”
Sienna looked at Audrey, then nodded.
Nora sat at the dining table and spoke directly to her.
“Your father filed paperwork this morning before his arrest. He’s asking a court to put someone he chose in charge of your money and decisions.”
Sienna’s smile vanished.
“He said he would do that.”
“He has asked for it,” Nora said. “It hasn’t been granted. I want to know what you want, in your own words.”
“I want him to stop taking my things.”
“What else?”
“I want to live with Audrey. I want to work at the garden center, if they’ll still have me. I want to go to school when I’m ready.”
Nora listened without interrupting.
“Thank you. I can help make sure the court hears that.”
Julian leaned forward.
“How did he file it while he was at Bell Creek?”
“His lawyer submitted it,” Nora said. “Daniel prepared the documents earlier.”
Audrey looked at Sienna.
“He planned this.”
Sienna nodded. “He told me if I didn’t say you made me leave home, he’d make sure nobody let me stay with you.”
Nora asked whether Sienna felt comfortable telling the court that. Sienna’s voice was quiet, but firm.
“Yes.”
After Nora left, Sienna went upstairs to rest. Audrey walked her to the door and waited until she heard it close.
Then she turned to Julian.
“You thought I was keeping her there against her will.”
“I did.”
“You asked me in front of everyone instead of asking her.”
“I was afraid she’d been hurt. I saw the note and I assumed the worst.”
“I was afraid too,” Audrey said. “I kept too much from you. But when I tried to explain, you wouldn’t let me finish.”
“I’m sorry.”
She looked down at her wedding ring.
“I believe you mean that. I need to see what you do next.”
Julian nodded.
“I’ll be here.”
He did stay. The next morning, he drove Evelyn to collect Sienna’s things from St. Agnes. He carried the bags into our house and put them where Sienna asked. When Audrey said she wanted to speak to Nora alone, he handed her the car keys without a question.
I saw him begin to understand that love could not make decisions for someone else.
That night, a message arrived from the garden center manager. Sienna’s job was waiting for her whenever she felt ready.
She read it three times and smiled.
Then Nora called.
Daniel’s lawyer had filed a statement claiming that Audrey had pressured Sienna to leave his home for the account. He had attached a letter with Sienna’s signature.
May you like
Sienna stared at the copy Nora sent.
“I signed that,” she said. “But that isn’t what it said when Dad gave it to me.”
