Chapter 2: The Second Call
PART 2 ⬇️
That evening, I called my accountant.
"The house across the street," I said.
"Find out the asking price by tomorrow morning."
He called back before eight.
I wrote the number down, looked at it once, and set the pen down.
It was less than I had paid for my third store.
The next morning, Vanessa handed me a new list.
Two pages this time.
She had added washing the outside windows, resealing the driveway, and organizing the garage before the weekend.
She dropped it on the counter without looking at me.
"And don't forget the children need to be at school by seven-thirty.
Don't be late again."
I had never been late.
Not once.
I folded the list the same way I always did and slipped it into my pocket.
That Saturday, I baked two pies for Margaret's garden lunch.
She introduced me to four of her neighbors.
One of them, a retired contractor named Bill, shook my hand and said, "Margaret tells me you're living across the street."
"For now," I said.
He smiled like he understood something I hadn't said out loud.
On the drive home, I passed the FOR SALE sign again.
This time, I didn't just look at it.
I pulled over.
I sat there for a long moment, watching the light move through the sycamore tree.
Then I took out my phone and made a second call.
Not to my accountant this time.
To my attorney.
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Walter just made a call that Vanessa never saw coming.
What he told his attorney will change everything in that house.
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