PART 3
Sloane suddenly rushed toward me.
“Give me that!”
She reached for the tablet, but Deputy Ellis caught her wrist before she touched me.
“Step back,” he ordered.
She tried to pull away.
“That recording is illegal!”
Dana remained calm.
“The conversation occurred on private trust property covered by posted audio-video surveillance notices. Your attorney may challenge it later.”
Grant stared at the drone.
“Turn off the livestream.”
Sloane’s assistant stood near the stage, too shocked to move.
“Turn it off!” Grant shouted.
The assistant looked at her tablet.
“I can’t. Sloane changed the administrator password.”
The livestream viewer count continued climbing.
Grant turned to me.
“Mom, please. Stop this before it gets worse.”
“You watched your wife throw my dinner into a dog’s bowl.”
“It was a stupid joke.”
“No,” I said. “It was a public demonstration of how you believed I deserved to be treated.”
“I didn’t know she was going to do that.”
“But after she did, you smiled.”
His mouth opened.
No words came out.
Dana handed him a document.
“This is formal notice that your permission to occupy the guesthouse has been revoked. You have seventy-two hours to remove your personal belongings under supervision.”
Sloane stared at her.
“You can’t evict us during a holiday weekend.”
“The trust can revoke access immediately when its assets are at risk.”
“What about our cars?” Sloane demanded.
“The sedan and SUV are registered to Bellhaven Ridge Holdings,” Dana replied. “They remain here.”
“The speedboat?”
“Also owned by the trust.”
“The furniture in the guesthouse?”
“Most of it was purchased by the trust.”
Sloane’s breathing became shallow.
“You’re leaving us with nothing.”
I looked at her.
“You arrived with nothing.”
Wade picked up a black ledger from behind the temporary bar.
“This contains deposits for at least eleven future events,” he said. “Since the venue is unlicensed and you represented yourself as its owner, the county will request an immediate freeze on the business accounts pending investigation.”
Guests began talking at once.
“I want my deposit returned.”
“You told us the property was insured.”
“My daughter’s wedding is in six weeks!”
The lifestyle influencer stepped directly in front of Sloane.
“You used my platform to promote a fraudulent business.”
“It isn’t fraudulent!” Sloane snapped. “Grant is going to inherit everything.”
“Someday,” Dana said. “Possibly. That does not give him the right to sell it today.”
Grant approached me with both hands raised.
“Mom, listen to me. We can settle this privately.”
“You had six months to speak with me privately.”
“I made a mistake.”
“You made hundreds of choices.”
“I’m your son.”
“And I was your mother when you let her call me hired help.”
His face crumpled.
For one brief moment, he looked like the boy I remembered.
But remorse arriving only after consequences is not the same as love.
Cole placed another folder on the table.
Inside were photographs of survey stakes hidden along the western shoreline, copies of emails Grant had exchanged with Curtis Vale, and a letter authorizing preliminary sale negotiations.
At the bottom of the letter was my signature.
Except I had never signed it.
Deputy Ellis lifted the document.
“Mr. Whitmore, did you create this?”
Grant looked at Sloane.
She stared back at him, silently warning him not to answer.
“Grant?” the deputy repeated.
Sloane grabbed his arm.
“Tell them Eleanor approved it.”
He pulled away from her.
“You said no one would ever check.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“What?”
“You said the trust was almost empty. You said once we sold the shoreline, no one would care.”
“Shut up,” she whispered.
“You told me she was losing her mind.”
“Grant, stop talking.”
“You said we could have her declared incompetent!”
His voice carried across the lawn.
Every guest heard him.
Dana removed one final set of documents.
“These are Mrs. Whitmore’s independent medical evaluations from two licensed specialists,” she said. “Both confirm that she is fully competent. We also possess recorded discussions showing an intention to file a false incapacity petition in order to gain control of the trust.”
Sloane looked around for someone to support her.
No one moved.
The wealthy couples she had invited were avoiding her eyes.
