Chapter 8 - PATRICIA’S PRIVATE REWARD
“Was Patricia supposed to be paid?” I asked.
Thomas looked uncomfortable.
“She requested a consulting fee if she facilitated the transaction.”
Megan crossed her arms.
“How much?”
“Two percent.”
“Of the combined site?”
“Yes.”
Depending on the final price, Patricia could have made tens of thousands of dollars.
Possibly more.
Suddenly, the past year rearranged itself.
Her sudden interest in zoning.
Her questions about property taxes.
Her insistence that the old house would be difficult for me to maintain once the baby arrived.
Her comments that Ryan and I should “start fresh somewhere modern.”
She hadn’t simply been trying to save her son.
She had built herself a reward.
“What did Northbridge actually want?” Evelyn asked.
“The trust owns the rear parcel. Claire owns the house and front property. Combined, they could become a valuable redevelopment site.”
“For what?”
“A medical-office complex with residential units.”
I immediately pictured Dad’s roses beneath bulldozers.
“No.”
Thomas raised both hands.
“No one is asking you to agree. I’m only explaining the proposal.”
“What does Ryan’s business debt have to do with my land?”
“His company leased equipment through an affiliated financing business.”
There it was.
Ryan owed money through a company connected to Northbridge.
Patricia saw a possible solution.
Sell my property.
Use the proceeds to stabilize her son.
Collect her own fee.
Thomas left after providing records to Evelyn.
That evening, Ryan called.
I almost ignored him.
Then I answered.
Not because I missed him.
Because I needed one answer.
“Did you know your mother was going to receive money?”
Silence.
Then:
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“A month.”
“And you said nothing.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I was ashamed.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“I thought if I fixed the business first, none of it would matter.”
“But you still put papers in front of me.”
His voice cracked.
“I know.”
“What did you think would happen?”
“I thought you’d sign.”
“Why?”
Another silence.
Then Ryan said the saddest thing he could have said.
“Because you’ve always helped me.”
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
He had mistaken my history of generosity for future permission.
“I helped you when I chose to help you,” I said.
“That never meant you were entitled to my next yes.”
For once, Ryan had no defense.
May you like
But before I hung up, he said something unexpected.
“Claire… the land isn’t the only thing I lied about.”
