The Price of Silence
Chapter 05 - The Price of Silence
Nora and Camille left through the kitchen while the night manager shouted after them.
Lily saw them run into the alley and jumped from the rideshare. The three women squeezed into the back seat just as Julian’s attorney rounded the corner.
“Drive,” Lily told the startled driver.
They reached Mrs. Alvarez’s apartment before dawn. Camille stood near the window, refusing to take off her coat.
Julian’s attorney called Nora six times. On the seventh, she answered.
“Mr. Cross is prepared to be generous,” he said. “A ten-million-dollar settlement, the lake house, and a mutual nondisclosure agreement.”
“In exchange for what?”
“You resign, waive your shares, and state that your injuries resulted from an accidental fall.”
Nora looked at Camille. “And Ms. Voss?”
There was a pause.
“Mr. Cross has no ongoing relationship with Ms. Voss.”
Camille closed her eyes.
The attorney continued. “This offer expires at nine.”
Nora ended the call.
Lily leaned against the kitchen counter. “Ten million dollars is a lot of money.”
“It’s less than he stole from you.”
“I wasn’t suggesting you take it.” Lily swallowed. “I was trying to understand how much he’s afraid of you.”
At eight-thirty, Nora called Grace Bennett, her older sister.
Grace had not spoken to Nora since their father’s funeral two years earlier. Their last argument had ended with Grace accusing Nora of letting Julian turn the family firm into a machine their father would not recognize.
“Nora?” Grace’s voice was guarded.
“I need help.”
Grace was silent long enough for Nora to hear a train passing in the distance.
“What did he do?”
Nora told her.
Grace did not offer comfort. She did not say she was sorry. She said, “Bring every document you have to Dad’s old workshop. Nine-thirty.”
The workshop stood behind the small brick house where the sisters had grown up. Julian had tried to buy it for years. Grace had always refused.
When Nora arrived, she found the front gate chained.
A notice had been nailed to the door.
PROPERTY ACQUIRED BY CROSS-BENNETT DEVELOPMENT FOR DEBT SATISFACTION.
Grace stood on the sidewalk holding the same notice.
“I never borrowed against this place,” she said.
May you like
Nora looked at the forged signature at the bottom.
It was Grace’s name—but the handwriting was Nora’s.
