Chapter 14 - THE FOLDER CAME BACK ONE LAST TIME
Almost a year after the kitchen confrontation, Avia arrived carrying the leather finance folder.
Talia’s body reacted before her mind did.
Her shoulders tightened.
Avia noticed.
“I should have warned you.”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
Beck came into the room.
“What’s that doing here?”
Avia placed it on the dining table.
“I’m moving.”
Both stared at her.
Avia had lived in the Mercer family home for thirty-one years.
“Where?” Beck asked.
“A condo in Lake Forest.”
“Why?”
“The house is ridiculous for one person.”
That was true.
It also represented something larger.
William’s portrait.
William’s office.
William’s unfinished systems.
A home where Avia had spent decades acting as the person responsible for everything.
“I’ve hired my own adviser,” she said.
Beck raised an eyebrow.
“An independent one?”
“Yes.”
Talia almost laughed.
Avia opened the folder.
Inside were the remaining household documents she had kept.
Old insurance copies.
Property records.
College savings statements.
Beck’s childhood bonds.
Nothing Talia needed.
Then Avia pulled out one sheet.
The original loan agreement.
Talia stared at her own signature.
Avia placed it on the table.
“My attorney says the trust’s copy has to be retained.”
“Then why do you have this?”
“This was my personal copy.”
She looked at Talia.
“I thought you might want to destroy it.”
Talia reached for the paper.
Stopped.
For seventeen months it had frightened her.
For another year it had represented betrayal.
Now it was simply a document containing one mistake she had made and many lies someone else built around it.
She handed it back.
“No.”
Avia looked surprised.
“You keep it.”
“Why?”
Talia’s voice remained calm.
“Because I don’t need to make it disappear to know it doesn’t control me.”
Avia’s eyes filled.
She nodded.
Then something unexpected happened.
Wren ran into the room.
“Grandma!”
Avia crouched.
Wren threw herself against her.
Avia looked toward Talia before lifting the child.
Permission.
Talia nodded.
Only then did Avia pick her up.
Beck saw it.
So did Talia.
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The smallest changes often required the longest battles.
