Chapter 7 - THE BREAK IN
My mother’s luxury apartment in the city was paid for entirely by the money she had siphoned from Grandma over the years.
Vanessa used her emergency key to unlock the front door. We slipped inside. The apartment was pristine, smelling of expensive lilies and bleach.
"She’s at her Pilates class," Vanessa whispered, checking her watch. "We have exactly twenty minutes."
We tore the place apart. Ethan checked the kitchen cabinets, Daniel methodically went through the home office, and Vanessa and I tackled Mom's massive walk-in closet.
"It has to be here," I muttered, digging through boxes of designer shoes.
"Lyra," Vanessa called out softly from the top shelf. She was standing on a step stool, reaching toward a stack of vintage hat boxes. "Look."
Tucked behind the highest box, covered by a silk scarf, was the heavy green jade elephant.
I grabbed it. My thumbs pressed into the intricate carving at the base. With a soft click, the bottom panel slid open. Inside rested a small, self-inking stamp with Grandma’s name on it.
"We got it," I breathed, relief flooding my chest.
"Got what, exactly?" a voice purred from the doorway.
I spun around. My mother stood in the doorway of the bedroom, clutching her heavy leather purse. She hadn't gone to Pilates.
Her eyes locked onto the jade elephant in my hands, and a mask of pure, unadulterated rage fell over her face. "Put that down, Lyra. That is my property."
"This is evidence of a felony, Mom," I said, gripping the statue tightly.
"You've always been just like her," Mom spat, taking a slow step toward me. "Sanctimonious. Controlling. Eleanor thought she could buy my obedience. She thought she could just hand you a $95,000 ring and bypass me completely. I am her daughter! I suffered for her!"
"You tortured her!" Vanessa screamed, stepping between me and Mom. "And you tortured us! You forged this signature, Mom. You forced me to commit fraud!"
Mom laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "Oh, Vanessa, grow up. You signed those loan papers because you liked the lifestyle I gave you. And as for the will... of course I forged it."
She took another step, her eyes burning. "Eleanor was a senile old bat who didn't know what was good for her. I wrote that addendum, I signed it with her favorite pen, and I will smash that stamp to dust before I let you take my inheritance."
Mom lunged at me.
"I wouldn't do that, Linda," Ethan’s voice cut through the room.
Mom froze. We all turned.
May you like
Ethan was leaning against the bedroom doorframe, holding his smartphone up. The red record button was blinking.
"Audio and video," Ethan said coldly. "Saved directly to the cloud. You just confessed to federal fraud and elder abuse, Linda. And I think the judge is going to love it."
