Chapter 10: Gathering Allies
Marcus’s departure left a tense quiet hanging over the cottage, but it also lit a fire under our plans. If Evelyn was already threatening emergency guardianship proceedings, we couldn't afford to wait for her next move. We needed independent verification of Clara’s health, legal representation that wasn't tied to the estate's payroll, and public exposure before their legal team could lock down the narrative. I picked up my phone and dialed the number of David Vance, an investigative journalist and old college friend who had spent his career untangling corporate corruption and high-society cover-ups.
David answered on the third ring, his voice sounding characteristically sharp and hurried against the background clatter of a newsroom. "Julian? It's been years. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"David, I need to meet you," I said, keeping my voice low so Chloe couldn't hear from the parlor. "It's about my family. Specifically, what's been hidden behind the doors of the estate."
"I'm listening," David said immediately, the professional journalist in him instantly waking up. "Is it about the foundation?"
"It's about much more than money," I replied, glancing back toward the kitchen where Clara was quietly sipping her tea. "It's about false imprisonment, forged medical records, and a cover-up spanning two decades. I have the documents, and I have a witness who's ready to talk on the record."
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, the sound of keyboard clicking stopping abruptly. "Meet me at the diner off Route 9 in forty minutes," David said. "Bring everything you have. If this is half as big as you sound, we need to move before anyone catches wind of it."
I hung up the phone and walked back into the parlor, where Chloe was now sitting on the floor drawing pictures with a box of crayons, her teddy bear propped up against the sofa leg. I knelt down beside her, gently brushing a stray lock of hair from her cheek. "Dad has to run into town for a little while, sweetheart. Grandma Clara is going to read you a story while I'm gone, okay?"
Chloe looked up, her trusting eyes meeting mine, and nodded. "Be careful, Dad."
May you like
"Always," I said, standing up and grabbing the leather pouch containing the documents from the kitchen table.
As I walked out to the car and started the engine, the realization of what we were about to do settled deep in my chest. We weren't just running away from the estate anymore; we were preparing to tear down its gilded walls once and for all. The public glamour that Evelyn had spent a lifetime projecting was about to collide with the undeniable, hidden truth, and nothing would ever be the same again.
