Chapter 6 - THE BUYER ALREADY KNEW MARLENE
Sarah’s broker called the buyer.
His name was Thomas Vale.
He represented a regional property group acquiring neighborhood commercial buildings.
He sounded surprised when Sarah asked whether he knew Marlene.
“Your mother?”
“Yes.”
Pause.
“We spoke once.”
Ethan and Sarah looked at each other.
“When?”
“Last winter.”
The first sale attempt.
Sarah had nearly accepted an earlier offer.
Marlene called Thomas directly.
She told him Sarah was “under psychiatric care” and might not have legal capacity to complete a sale.
Thomas withdrew temporarily.
Sarah stared at the phone.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Your broker said family issues were being handled.”
Sarah closed her eyes.
Her old broker.
Marlene had recommended him.
Ethan said:
“What exactly did she say?”
“That there might be a conservatorship filing.”
Eight months before one existed.
Sarah felt physically sick.
The draft papers were not only preparation.
Marlene had already been using the possibility as leverage.
“Did she ask you not to buy?”
“She suggested waiting until the family sorted out ownership.”
“There was no ownership dispute.”
Thomas sounded uncomfortable.
“I understand that now.”
Sarah ended the call.
Ethan watched her.
“You okay?”
She looked at him sharply.
He immediately corrected himself.
“Do you want company?”
Sarah’s expression softened.
“Yes.”
Progress.
Small.
Real.
Rachel Donnelly investigated the old broker.
He admitted Marlene had contacted him repeatedly.
He also admitted telling her when Sarah renewed the sale effort.
Not illegal in the dramatic sense.
Unprofessional.
A breach of confidence.
Sarah fired him.
Thomas’s group remained interested.
The sale moved forward through a new broker.
Marlene’s influence began shrinking.
That made her louder.
She called Ethan.
“Sarah is making reckless decisions.”
“Sarah is selling property she owns.”
“Noah wanted that building kept.”
“Then he should have put it in his will.”
Marlene went silent.
Ethan had never spoken to her that way.
“You think Sarah is well?”
“I think Sarah has been reacting to people making her doubt herself.”
“People?”
“You.”
Marlene’s voice became icy.
“Be careful.”
“Why?”
“Because when this marriage falls apart, you’ll regret turning my daughter against me.”
Ethan stared at the phone.
Marriage.
Not health.
Not Noah.
Marlene had shifted targets.
That evening Sarah opened old text messages.
She searched:
Ethan
Messages from Marlene appeared repeatedly.
Are you sure he supports you?
He seems frustrated by your moods.
Men get tired of managing this kind of instability.
Sarah looked at Ethan.
“She’s been telling me you were going to leave.”
Ethan’s face changed.
He searched his own messages.
Marlene had sent him parallel versions.
Sarah thinks you don’t understand her grief.
She says you care more about work.
I worry resentment is building between you.
Ethan stared.
“She was separating us.”
Sarah shook her head slowly.
“No.”
May you like
She looked at the conservatorship draft.
“She was making sure neither of us trusted the other enough to challenge her.”
Related Stories
