Chapter 3
“Grandpa, don’t deal with them. Tell them to wait.”
His voice sounded anxious on the other end.
“They say the shop doesn’t meet fire codes. We have to fix it by their deadline, or they’ll shut us down.”
I gripped the phone.
Fire code violations. The garage had been open for fifteen years, and no one had ever come to inspect it.
“Don’t argue with them, Grandpa. I’ll handle it.”
“Where are you?”
“On a business trip. I’ll be home soon.”
After I hung up, the door opened again.
Fiona walked in, followed by a man carrying a briefcase.
“Oh, Danny. You shouldn’t have come to someone else’s engagement party like this. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
She always called me Danny, as if she were my mother.
When other people were around.
“Fiona, did you send those men to make trouble at my grandfather’s garage?”
Her smile didn’t change.
“What men? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She sat at the table and opened the file the man handed her.
“Danny, let’s work something out. Sign this, and I’ll give you five hundred thousand dollars. You can go back to Bayport and do whatever you want. I’ll take care of the trouble with the garage.”
“Sign what?”
“A voluntary waiver of your inheritance rights and any claims related to the engagement agreement.”
I glanced at the document.
The Bennett seal was already stamped beside the signature line.
“Fiona, did you have this drawn up yourself, or did my father tell you to?”
“Your father wanted it.”
“Then why isn’t he telling me himself?”
“He’s busy.”
“Too busy to show up while his own son signs away his rights?”
At last, her smile shifted.
The door hadn’t closed all the way. Footsteps sounded in the hallway.
Ethan approached with several guests.
“Everyone, see? This is my brother. Grew up in a garage, and now he’s here claiming the engagement belongs to him.”
Someone murmured something. I couldn’t catch all of it, but I heard the word garage.
Ethan leaned against the doorframe.
“Daniel, you have two choices. One, sign what Mom brought and leave with some dignity. Two, refuse, and I’ll call right now and have your grandfather’s garage shut down.”
“Try touching him.”
“You know perfectly well I can.”
His smile was faint. “He rents that property. His lease expires next year, and the landlord went to school with Dad. One phone call. That’s all it takes.”
Fiona chose that moment to speak. “Danny, don’t fight with Ethan. I really do want what’s best for you. Think about it. You have a peaceful life in Bayport. Why get mixed up in this?”
One of the guests at the door chimed in. “Exactly, young man. We all have our place in life. Don’t force it.”
I stood.
Ethan took half a step back.
“Relax,” I told him. “I don’t hit people.”
I reached the door, but a guard blocked me.
“Mr. Bennett says you have to sign before you leave.”
I turned to Ethan.
He took something from his pocket and held it up to the light.
A tiny jade seal on a red cord.
My mother’s personal seal.
“Recognize this?”
My fists tightened.
“Everything your mother left is with me. Her beads are on my wrist. Her jade pin is on my lapel. Even this seal—Dad gave it to me himself.”
He slipped the seal back into his pocket and patted it.
“Your mother didn’t leave you a thing when she died. Know why?”
“Shut up.”
“Because she knew you didn’t deserve it.”
The room went silent.
Beside him, Fiona sighed.
“Danny, just sign it. Stop making this harder on yourself.”
I didn’t answer her.
I was watching the corner of the phone sticking out of Ethan’s pocket.
The screen lit up. A notification appeared.
I caught only a name.
Lily.