Chapter 7
Grandma Claire pushed into Daniel's office before anyone invited her.
Her black handbag swung against her hip.
Her styled brown hair was perfectly arranged.
But her face looked furious.
"There you are!"
She pointed directly at me.
"Maya, get your things. We're going home."
I instinctively stood.
For years, when Grandma told me to move, I moved.
When she told me to be quiet, I stopped talking.
When she looked angry, I apologized before I even knew what I'd done.
But Adrian placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.
"You don't have to go anywhere right now."
Grandma glared at him.
"Take your hands off my granddaughter!"
Daniel stepped forward.
"Claire, this is my office. You need to lower your voice."
She ignored him.
"Maya, come here."
I stared at her.
My legs felt weak.
"I don't want to."
Grandma froze.
"What?"
I swallowed.
"I said I don't want to."
Her face hardened.
"After everything I've done for you?"
I felt tears rise.
There it was.
The sentence she used whenever she wanted me to feel guilty.
She'd said it when I asked for new school shoes.
When I wanted to join the choir.
When I cried because Grandpa was sick.
After everything I've done for you.
I looked at her.
"I know you helped raise me."
She crossed her arms.
"Then show some respect."
I took a shaky breath.
"But you lied about my father."
Her expression changed.
I continued.
"You hid his letters."
"Maya—"
"You told me Grandpa left me nothing."
Her jaw tightened.
"And you tried to stop me from opening his envelope."
The room went silent.
Grandma looked toward Daniel.
"You're poisoning her against me."
He shook his head.
"Claire, Maya is describing her own experiences."
She pointed at Adrian.
"This man abandoned his responsibilities!"
Adrian's expression remained controlled.
"I have records of the support payments and attempts to contact Maya."
Grandma laughed bitterly.
"Paper doesn't make someone a father."
He looked at me.
"No. Showing up does."
I felt tears fill my eyes.
Grandma stared at him.
Then she turned toward me.
"If you leave with him, don't come crawling back when he disappoints you."
Something inside me broke.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
It was like a string finally snapping after being pulled too tightly for years.
I looked directly at her.
"Grandpa never made me afraid to love him."
Grandma opened her mouth.
I continued.
"He never threatened to stop caring about me."
My voice shook.
"He never made me feel like I had to choose between telling the truth and being loved."
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
"Why can't you love me like that?"
For the first time, Grandma looked uncertain.
Her eyes flickered.
Then she looked away.
I waited.
Hoping she'd apologize.
Hoping she'd say she'd made a terrible mistake.
But instead, she whispered, "You don't understand what your grandfather put me through."
Daniel frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Grandma laughed bitterly.
"Everyone thought Marcus Bennett was a saint."
My stomach tightened.
"Grandpa was a good man."
She looked at me.
"He was a good grandfather."
I stared.
"What does that mean?"
Grandma sat heavily in a chair.
For a moment, she looked older than I'd ever seen her.
Then she began talking.
"Your grandfather spent years building that company."
I listened.
"He worked long hours. He missed anniversaries. He forgot birthdays."
Her voice cracked.
"I spent years feeling invisible."
I looked toward Daniel.
He remained quiet.
Grandma continued.
"When he retired, I thought things would finally change."
She wiped her eyes.
"But then your mother died."
My chest tightened.
Grandma looked at me.
"Marcus poured every bit of his attention into you."
I froze.
She continued.
"He made you the center of his world."
I stared at her.
"Because I was little and my mom died."
Grandma's face crumpled.
"I know."
I swallowed.
"Are you saying you were jealous of me?"
She looked away.
The silence answered.
I felt sick.
For years, I'd believed Grandma was angry because I made too many mistakes.
Now I was beginning to understand.
She resented the love Grandpa gave me.
The time he spent with me.
The care I needed after losing my mother.
I looked at her.
"I didn't take Grandpa away from you."
Grandma began crying.
"I know."
"Then why did you punish me?"
She covered her face.
"I don't have a good answer."
For the first time, she sounded honest.
But it wasn't enough.
Daniel sat across from her.
"Claire, we also need to discuss the financial records."
She stiffened.
"What records?"
"The disputed transfers."
Her face went pale.
Adrian stood beside me.
Daniel continued.
"Several withdrawals appear to have moved trust funds into accounts connected to Victor Hale."
Grandma looked toward the door.
"I don't know anything about that."
Daniel remained calm.
"Then we need to establish who authorized them."
She gripped her handbag.
"Victor handled the investments."
I frowned.
"Who is Victor?"
Grandma swallowed.
"A financial adviser."
Daniel leaned forward.
"Was he also involved in preparing the disputed property transfer?"
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Yes."
My stomach tightened.
"Grandma, why?"
Her eyes filled.
"He said the house needed to be moved into a different structure to protect it."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"Protect it from whom?"
Grandma looked at Adrian.
"From him."
Adrian shook his head.
"I never asked for ownership of the house."
Grandma began trembling.
"Victor said once Adrian established parental rights, he could force the sale."
Daniel responded carefully.
"That is not how the trust automatically works."
Grandma stared at him.
For the first time, she seemed genuinely frightened.
I looked at her.
"Did Victor lie to you?"
She covered her mouth.
"I don't know."
Daniel asked whether she had documents.
She nodded.
"At home."
He advised her not to destroy, alter, or remove anything before the records could be properly reviewed.
Grandma agreed reluctantly.
Then she looked at me.
"Maya, I was trying to protect the house."
I stared at her.
"Then why did you try to take it out of my trust?"
She couldn't answer.
I felt tears rise.
That was the problem.
Grandma might have been manipulated.
She might have been afraid.
But she'd still made choices.
And those choices hurt me.
Daniel explained that an independent investigation would determine exactly what had happened.
Grandma stood slowly.
Her anger seemed to have disappeared.
Now she looked exhausted.
She turned toward me.
"Will you come home?"
I looked at Adrian.
Then back at her.
"Not today."
Her eyes filled.
I continued.
"I need somewhere I can feel safe."
Grandma lowered her head.
For once, she didn't argue.
She walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
"Maya?"
I looked up.
She whispered, "Your grandfather really did love you more than anything."
My throat tightened.
"I know."
She nodded.
Then left.
I watched the door close.
For a long time, nobody spoke.
Then Adrian knelt beside me.
"How are you feeling?"
I wiped my cheeks.
"Sad."
He nodded.
"That makes sense."
I looked at him.
"And relieved."
He smiled gently.
"That makes sense too."
I leaned into his arms.
For the first time, I understood that setting boundaries didn't mean I was cruel.
It meant I was protecting myself.
Then Daniel's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed immediately.
"What?"
I sat straighter.
He listened carefully.
Then looked at us.
"Thank you. I'll inform the family."
He ended the call.
Adrian frowned.
"What happened?"
Daniel's voice was serious.
"The financial investigator has located Victor Hale."
My stomach tightened.
"Where?"
Daniel looked at me.
"At the airport."
I swallowed.
"Was he leaving?"
Daniel nodded.
"Apparently."
Then he added something that made my blood turn cold.
May you like
"He was carrying documents connected to your grandfather's trust."
And I realized the person who had been manipulating Grandma might be trying to disappear with everything Grandpa left me.
