Chapter 3
That night during dinner, Brenda received a phone call and walked out toward the back patio. Hannah quietly approached the kitchen corner with the recorder turned on.
“Yes, Vance has all the paperwork ready,” Brenda spoke into her phone. “I have the official stamp with me right now and I will pay you on Monday after I sell a house that belongs to some naive relatives who have not even noticed.”
Hannah had to cover her mouth tightly to keep from gasping out loud.
A few minutes later, she pretended to trip in the hallway and accidentally knocked over Brenda’s handbag. A small plastic case fell out from among the cosmetics and keys, bouncing across the floor.
Brenda threw herself toward the floor in a panic. “Do not touch that!”
The plastic case had a small white label with the initials F.M. clearly printed on it. Hannah now possessed a clear audio recording and knew for certain that Brenda was carrying an official stamp that belonged to her grandmother.
However, the most painful blow came on Sunday afternoon when Brandon walked into her sewing workshop and locked the door behind him.
“Hannah, we did something terrible and I need to tell you that I signed some papers,” he confessed nervously.
For a brief moment, Hannah felt a wave of pity and wanted to let him confess everything, but then she remembered Clifford’s warning that private words could easily be denied later in court.
“Not today, Brandon,” she interrupted firmly. “We are having dinner with the family tomorrow, so you can explain everything to me later.”
Brandon looked at her pleadingly, desperate to relieve his own immense guilt, but she refused to grant him an easy way out.
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Late that night, Clifford sent her a direct text message: “Vance is coming on Tuesday to collect the money and the stamp, so if Brenda speaks in front of witnesses, her plot will be completely over.”
Hannah looked down at her sleeping daughter and knew there was no turning back. Brenda believed she would celebrate her ultimate victory on Tuesday, completely unaware that it would be the night the entire family discovered the truth.
