The Town Chooses Sides
Chapter 11 - The Town Chooses Sides
By Friday, the story had divided the town.
Grant’s supporters described him as a generous businessman being persecuted by criminals.
Mack’s supporters placed signs outside the garage that read CHILDREN DESERVE TO BE HEARD.
The Iron Rites club members wanted to confront Grant publicly.
Mack refused.
“No threats. No riding past his house. No giving him anything he can use against Eli.”
Some members accepted the order.
Others accused Mack of becoming weak.
Bear stood at the back of the clubhouse, silent beneath the weight of his secret.
Grant appeared on the evening news with photographs of the club’s past arrests.
Most were decades old.
One involved Mack.
When he was twenty-six, he had broken a man’s arm during a bar fight.
The reporter did not mention that the man had been attacking a waitress.
The next morning, three customers canceled repair appointments.
A bank representative called to review the garage loan.
Then the fire inspector arrived without warning.
Grant was attacking the one thing Mack had built after losing Daniel.
Mack understood the message.
Walk away from Eli, or lose everything.
That afternoon, Eli sat at the office desk doing homework.
He noticed Mack reading the cancellation notices.
“Is this because of me?”
“No.”
“You didn’t have inspectors before I came.”
Mack knelt beside him.
“Grant is doing this because he thinks I care more about the garage than I care about you.”
“Do you?”
Mack looked through the window at the building he had owned for twenty-seven years.
He had slept on the garage floor when he could not afford rent. He had rebuilt the roof with his own hands. Every tool had a history.
“No,” he said.
Eli searched his face.
“What if you lose it?”
“Then I lose it.”
Eli leaned against him.
At that moment, Claire entered carrying bank records obtained through the trust litigation.
Grant had taken three loans using Sarah’s house as collateral.
Her signature appeared on all of them.
Sarah denied signing anything.
The money had not gone into the home.
It had been transferred to Grant’s failing construction company.
Claire placed one final statement on the desk.
“Yesterday, he withdrew almost everything.”
“How much?”
“Four hundred and eighty thousand dollars.”
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Grant was not preparing for another hearing.
He was preparing to disappear.
