Chapter 7 - The Night Thomas Pretended to Forget
Kevin found Thomas standing beside the guest-room door.
“What are you doing?”
Thomas let his face go blank.
“I was looking for the bathroom.”
Kevin stared at him.
“The bathroom is behind you.”
Thomas looked over his shoulder as though surprised.
“Oh.”
Kevin’s suspicion softened into satisfaction.
He took out his phone and began recording.
“What day is it, Dad?”
Thomas hesitated deliberately.
“Tuesday?”
It was Thursday.
Kevin smiled.
“And where are we?”
“At home.”
“Whose home?”
Thomas lowered his eyes.
“Yours.”
Kevin stopped recording.
“That’s right.”
He guided Thomas into the room and locked the door from the outside.
Thomas waited until the footsteps disappeared.
Then he pulled the old cellphone from beneath the mattress and called Claire.
“They locked me in.”
“I’m calling the police.”
“No.”
“Thomas—”
“If police arrive now, Kevin will say I wandered and became violent. We need him confident until the hearing.”
“You are in danger.”
“I have been in danger since I allowed them through the door.”
Thomas used a small screwdriver hidden in his inhaler case to remove the lock plate.
Elaine had always teased him for keeping tools everywhere.
Tonight, that habit freed him.
He returned to the kitchen after midnight.
The voice recorder remained beneath the lemon bowl.
He retrieved it and copied the audio to Claire’s secure account.
Then he noticed the property folder had shifted beneath the newspaper.
Someone had found it.
Thomas opened the folder.
The forged deed copies were still there.
But Claire’s handwritten legal strategy was missing.
Kevin now knew Thomas had help.
A light clicked on behind him.
Brenda stood in the doorway wearing a silk robe.
“What are you hiding?”
Thomas closed the folder.
“Old tax records.”
She approached slowly.
“You’ve been acting strange.”
“I’m an old man. According to you, I always act strange.”
Brenda studied him.
Then she smiled.
“Kevin thinks you’re stupid.”
“And you?”
“I think frightened people can be dangerous.”
She leaned close enough for Thomas to smell smoke.
“So tell me who your lawyer is.”
Thomas said nothing.
Brenda’s smile vanished.
“You don’t understand what Kevin will do when he feels cornered.”
Thomas looked into her eyes.
“I think you understand that better than anyone.”
Her face changed.
May you like
Thomas knew she realized he had heard the call to Daniel.
👉 Brenda now knew Thomas had discovered her escape plan—and instead of warning Kevin, she offered the old man a secret deal.
