Chapter 4 - WHAT DANIEL HAD PROMISED THEM
Naomi came to the hospital at two in the morning.
She arrived alone.
She was thirty-two, quiet, and usually treated by the Mercer family as though being unmarried made her opinions less valuable than everyone else's.
That night, she looked terrified.
She stood in the doorway until I told her she could come inside.
“I should have stopped this earlier.”
“You knew?”
“Not everything.”
I waited.
Naomi sat down.
“Daniel started talking about Patricia moving into your apartment about four months ago.”
“He never mentioned it to me.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because he told everyone you were difficult about money.”
I almost smiled from disbelief.
I paid the mortgage.
I paid the property taxes.
I paid most of the utilities.
Daniel contributed to groceries and occasionally paid the condominium fee when I reminded him.
“What exactly did he tell them?”
“That the apartment would eventually become a Mercer family asset.”
I stared at her.
“My apartment?”
“He said once Patricia sold her townhouse, she would put some of the proceeds into his business.”
Daniel owned a small commercial renovation company.
He frequently complained about cash flow, but he always insisted the business was growing.
“How much did she give him?”
Naomi looked down.
“I don't know the exact amount.”
“Guess.”
“More than three hundred thousand dollars.”
I felt something inside me drop.
Daniel had never told me his mother invested a cent.
Naomi continued.
“The business was already in trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“Unpaid suppliers.”
I closed my eyes.
“Loans?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“I don't know.”
I opened them again.
“And what does that have to do with my apartment?”
Naomi's voice became softer.
“Patricia believed your apartment would protect her money.”
I stared at her.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“She thought Daniel would eventually get you to transfer an interest in it.”
“To her?”
“To him first.”
The pieces began moving into place.
Daniel had spent months casually suggesting that married couples should combine everything.
He had asked why I still kept the deed and insurance records in my office safe.
He had joked that my insistence on keeping the apartment in my name made him feel like a guest.
I had always answered the same way.
The property had existed before the marriage.
There was no reason to change the title.
Naomi leaned forward.
“Tonight wasn't supposed to become violent.”
I almost snapped at her.
Then I realized she wasn't defending him.
She was explaining their plan.
“What was supposed to happen?”
“Patricia was going to announce that she was moving in.”
“And?”
“You were supposed to object.”
“I did.”
“Daniel was supposed to pressure you.”
“He did.”
“Frank was supposed to talk about family loyalty.”
I remembered Frank folding his arms before the assault.
“Claire was supposed to talk about how lonely Patricia was.”
I remembered Claire's smile.
“Then Patricia was going to produce the folder.”
My throat tightened.
“And they thought I would sign a deed at dinner?”
“Not immediately.”
Naomi shook her head.
“The paperwork was supposed to frighten you into believing decisions had already been made.”
I stared at her.
“They wanted twenty people sitting there so I would feel outnumbered.”
“Yes.”
The word was barely audible.
I thought of the long table.
Every chair filled.
Every relative watching.
It hadn't been a dinner.
It had been an intervention designed to strip me of control inside my own home.
“Why are you telling me this?”
Naomi's eyes filled.
“Because when Daniel hit you, nobody moved.”
She swallowed.
“Neither did I.”
I didn't rescue her from that truth.
She needed to carry it.
So did the others.
“I was scared of them.”
She looked toward the floor.
“But being scared doesn't make what I did acceptable.”
“No.”
“I know.”
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then Naomi took out her phone.
“I have something you should see.”
She opened a family group chat.
There were messages from Daniel.
Messages from Patricia.
Messages from Frank and Claire.
Naomi scrolled upward.
Then she stopped.
Daniel had written one message two weeks earlier.
Once Rachel understands everyone is united, she'll give in.
Patricia replied beneath it.
And if she doesn't?
May you like
Daniel's response was only five words.
Then I will handle her.
