Chapter 3: The Man at the Table
The man Thora had pointed to rose slowly.
He was tall, silver-haired, and still holding his dinner napkin as though this were merely an awkward business meeting.
“My name is Corvin Hale,” he said.
“I’m the family solicitor.”
“You’re the man who frightened my daughter.”
“I helped her with a handwriting exercise.”
Thora pressed her face against Aldric’s coat.
“He said I had to make the A look like yours.”
Corvin’s jaw tightened.
“Children confuse things.”
“They don’t invent locked drawers,” Aldric said.
“And they don’t invent petitions carrying forged signatures.”
Heloise pushed herself upright beside the table.
“Give me my phone.”
Aldric held it beyond her reach.
“Who sent this message?”
“You stole private property.”
“You used my child to take mine.”
Corvin placed both hands flat on the table.
“Return the phone, Aldric.
You have already ass@ulted Heloise in front of witnesses.
Do not make your position worse.”
A woman near the window stood abruptly.
“You told us Aldric had agreed to sell.”
Heloise turned toward her.
“Celeste, sit down.”
“No.” Celeste picked up her handbag.
“You said this dinner was for the new owners to meet one another.”
A broad-shouldered man at the end of the table pushed his untouched plate away.
“I was told I was buying the house from Aldric.”
“You’re buying nothing,” Aldric said.
The man met his eyes.
“Then somebody took my deposit under false pretenses.”
Corvin’s composure slipped for one second.
“Conrad, this is not the time.”
“It became the time when a frightened child pointed at you.”
Heloise snatched a candleholder from the table and swung it toward the documents.
Aldric caught her wrist before the flame touched the petition.
“Trying to destroy these?” he asked.
“I was moving the candle.”
“To the only papers in the room bearing my false signature?”
A heavy knock sounded at the front door.
Heloise stopped struggling, and a small smile returned to her face.
“You should answer that,” she said.
Aldric pulled Thora closer.
“Who did you call?”
“I didn’t need to call anyone.
They were already coming.”
Corvin straightened his jacket.
“You returned a day earlier than expected.
That changed the timing, not the result.”
Aldric opened the door without releasing Thora’s hand.
A police officer stood beside a woman carrying a county identification folder.
“Mr.
Aldric Vane?” the woman asked.
“I’m Miriam Cole from Child and Family Services.
We have an emergency protection order concerning Thora Vane.”
Thora’s fingers tightened around his.
“Protection from whom?” Aldric asked.
Miriam opened the folder.
“From you.”
Heloise stepped into the hallway, holding one hand against her face.
“He lost control as soon as he arrived.”
“That woman made my daughter sleep on the kitchen floor,” Aldric said.
“Look beside the door.”
Corvin lifted the petition.
“The court received evidence that Mr.
Vane abandoned Thora for months and returned in a violent state.”
“I was away for twelve days.”
“The filing says ninety-three.”
Aldric stared at the dates.
Every page carried his signature.
Miriam crouched in front of Thora.
“Sweetheart, are you frightened?”
“Yes,” Thora whispered.
“Of your father?”
Thora shook her head and pointed at Heloise.
“Of her.”
Heloise’s smile vanished, but Corvin stepped between them.
“The order has already been signed,” he said.
“The child must be placed with an approved carer until tomorrow’s hearing.”
“No!” Thora wrapped both arms around Aldric’s waist.
“Daddy, don’t let them take me.”
Aldric looked down at the emergency order.
In the space naming the person seeking permanent guardianship, one name had been typed in bold letters.
HELOISE VALE.
May you like
Then Miriam turned the page and showed him the final paragraph.
The court had also frozen Aldric’s access to the house.
