Chapter 3 - Her Brother’s Signature
Calvin crossed the garden as though he already owned it.
He wore a tailored gray suit and the same confident smile Paige had once mistaken for charm.
Kyle followed several steps behind.
He looked exhausted.
His beard had grown unevenly, and his shirt was wrinkled beneath his jacket.
“What happened here?” Calvin asked.
Tabitha immediately pointed toward Paige.
“She attacked me.”
Paige almost laughed.
“You kicked me from behind.”
Calvin glanced at the dirt on Paige’s apron and the petals tangled in her hair.
Then he looked at Tabitha’s clean dress.
He did not ask another question.
“Paige, this needs to stop.”
“This?”
“The scenes. The accusations. Refusing to accept reality.”
Kyle tightened his grip on the folder.
Paige turned to him.
“Where have you been?”
“I needed time.”
“You disappeared after Dad’s funeral.”
“I was handling the estate.”
“With Calvin?”
Kyle looked away.
Calvin took the folder from him.
“This is a signed agreement authorizing the sale of the property.”
Paige stared at her brother.
“You signed it?”
Kyle swallowed.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“There is always a choice.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it.”
Calvin stepped between them.
“The estate has debt.”
Paige frowned.
“Our father had no debt.”
“Your father had secrets.”
“So do you.”
Tabitha’s eyes flicked toward Paige’s apron.
Paige noticed.
Calvin opened the folder.
“This property will transfer to Everett Development tomorrow morning.”
Paige knew the name.
It was one of Calvin’s shell companies.
“You’re selling my father’s home to yourself.”
“I’m preventing foreclosure.”
“You’re stealing it.”
Kyle whispered, “Paige, please.”
She looked at him.
Fear sat behind his eyes.
Not greed.
Fear.
Calvin had something on him.
Paige lowered her voice.
“What did he threaten you with?”
Kyle’s face drained.
Calvin closed the folder.
“That is enough.”
Paige took one step closer.
“Dad’s final will was in the study, wasn’t it?”
No one answered.
Then she withdrew the brass key.
Kyle’s reaction was immediate.
He stared at it as though he had seen a ghost.
“Where did you get that?”
“Under the roses.”
Calvin turned sharply toward Tabitha.
It was only a glance.
But it carried fury.
Tabitha had failed to find the envelope before Paige did.
Kyle whispered, “Dad left something in the garden?”
Paige studied him.
“You didn’t know.”
Calvin seized Kyle’s arm.
“We’re leaving.”
Kyle pulled away.
Then Paige heard the faint vibration of a phone.
It came from inside Calvin’s folder.
The screen lit through a gap in the leather.
A message preview appeared.
KEEP KYLE QUIET UNTIL THE TRANSFER.
The sender’s name was not visible.
But Kyle saw the message too.
May you like
And suddenly, he began to understand that he might not survive once Calvin had what he wanted.
👉 Kyle had signed the sale under threat—but the threat began with something he found beside their father’s body.
