Chapter 4 - Forty-Eight Front Doors

I left the ballroom without collecting my coat.

Grant followed me through the hotel lobby, past a fountain that cost more than Ruth earned in a year. "You cannot just walk out."

"Watch me."

"Do you understand how much money you just destroyed?"

I stopped beside the revolving doors. "Do you understand that your mother hurt someone and you tried to hide it?"

"She tripped."

"Then why did you ask Luis to delete the video?"

He said nothing. That silence told me more than a confession.

Outside, the night was cold enough to sting. Talia was waiting by the ambulance, shoulders shaking beneath her chef's jacket. She had refused a ride because she wanted to follow her mother to the hospital.

"I can drive you," I offered.

"You already lost enough tonight," she said.

"Ruth didn't cost me anything."

"Your husband owns the hotel."

"My husband controls it. There's a difference."

We drove through downtown toward County General. Talia told me her mother had worked two jobs after Talia's father died, and had skipped treatment for a swollen knee to keep her health insurance active. Every sentence made the ballroom's jeweled extravagance feel more obscene.

At a red light, I showed Talia the demolition notice.

"Harbor House?" she said. "That's where I live. Mom too."

"My father helped build it."

"Then why are they making us leave?"

I had no answer.

At the hospital, a physician confirmed that Ruth had a fractured wrist and a concussion requiring observation. She would recover, but she could not work until cleared. Ruth's first question was whether her medical bill would be covered.

"It will," I said.

"Don't promise what you can't control," she replied gently.

I looked her in the eye. "Then I'll take control."

My phone lit up with a call from Dad's former attorney, Margaret Price. I had not spoken to her since the funeral.

"Naomi," she said when I answered, "I heard about Harbor House. Don't sign anything else. More importantly, don't go home."

"Why?"

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"The company records show a meeting at your house tonight. According to the minutes, you're already there."

THE NIGHT SHE TURNED THE TABLES |