Chapter 10 - The Cut Wire

Rina led us to the back room. The maintenance electrician, Pete Wallace, was already there. He'd come early after hearing about the shutdown.

"Look at this conduit," Pete said, pointing with a flashlight. "The outer jacket's been cut. That didn't happen from water damage."

"Can you prove who did it?" Dad asked.

"No. And don't touch anything. I need to document it and make the repair safe. If you're reporting possible tampering, the authorities may want to inspect it first."

Dad leaned against a shelf. Corinne said Pete was exaggerating and stormed out before he finished explaining.

We gave Officer Holloway the maintenance records and photographs. Price was notified, too. There would be no secret grand reveal, no instant arrest, just an official trail that couldn't be waved away as holiday drama.

Afterward, Grandma and I carried packaged pastries from the front case to the church pantry. We couldn't bake new ones, but we could keep our standing promise to deliver what we had.

"Mom started that tradition," I told the volunteer taking the boxes.

"I know," she said. "She was here the week before she died."

On our way back, Grandma asked me to stop at the old mill bridge. Water ran dark beneath the ice.

"Your mother never wanted you chained to this place," she said. "You can save it and still decide to leave."

"I don't want to leave."

"Then make sure you're staying because you love it, not because you think loving her requires you to suffer."

I looked out over the river. In Pittsburgh I'd built beautiful cakes for people I never met. At Bell & Flour, customers used to leave notes on the counter asking Mom to make the same peach pie she'd made for their wedding.

"I want to make it mine without erasing her," I said.

Grandma squeezed my hand.

My phone rang. It was Maya.

"The title company acknowledged your dispute," she told me. "They've paused the transaction. But I found a second agreement the buyer didn't send us."

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"What agreement?"

"It offers Corinne a personal payment of one hundred and sixty thousand dollars if the bakery is delivered vacant by New Year's Eve."