CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 5
Now, in the backyard, Thomas stepped down from the porch.
One step.
Then he stopped.
Rebecca turned her head just enough to see him.
“Careful,” she said.
One word.
That was all it took.
Thomas froze again.
Eleanor’s eyes filled, but she did not let the tears fall.
Rebecca loved tears.
They made her feel powerful.
So Eleanor gave her none.
Instead, she bent slowly and picked up the pillow from inside the dog house.
Rebecca laughed under her breath.
“What, too proud now?”
Eleanor held the pillow against her chest.
“No,” she said. “Too tired.”
Something in her voice made Thomas look up.
It was not weakness.
It was ending.
Eleanor reached into the pocket of her cardigan and pulled out a small white business card. The porch light caught the name printed across it.
Grace Holloway.
Attorney.
Rebecca’s smile faded.
Eleanor looked at Thomas.
“Your father was not a rich man,” she said quietly. “But he was careful.”
Thomas frowned. “Mom?”
“He knew grief makes people vulnerable. He knew I would trust you. And he knew one day someone might use that trust against me.”
Rebecca stepped forward. “What is that?”
Eleanor did not answer her.
She looked only at her son.
“This house is in a family trust. I have the legal right to live here for the rest of my life.”
The backyard changed.
The wind.
The silence.
Thomas’s face.
Rebecca’s confidence cracked so fast it was almost visible.
“That’s impossible,” Rebecca said.
May you like
Eleanor finally looked at her.
“No, Rebecca. What’s impossible is believing I would let your cruelty become my son’s inheritance.”
