Chapter 2 - The Apartment Above the Laundromat
Daniel lived above a laundromat on the west side.
One room.
One window.
A radiator that knocked every few minutes as though someone were trapped inside the pipes.
He carried me up two flights because the building had no elevator.
“Sorry,” he said.
For what?
The peeling paint?
The cheap curtains?
The narrow bed he immediately gave to a woman he barely knew?
I had spent four decades in rooms where rich people apologized for nothing.
Daniel apologized because his apartment was small.
He put rice on the stove, warmed broth, and found an old first-aid kit.
When he saw my fingers, his face tightened.
“Those need a hospital.”
“No hospital.”
“That isn’t optional.”
“It is tonight.”
He stared at me.
Most people heard my slowed speech and assumed my mind had slowed too.
Daniel did not.
“Why?”
“Because the hospital… discharged me three days ago.”
“Against medical advice?”
I looked at him.
He understood.
“Your children?”
I nodded.
The forged power of attorney had given Celeste temporary medical control.
At least that was what she believed.
The real document had expired eleven days earlier.
Naomi Price, my attorney, had deliberately allowed Celeste to keep using the forged copy.
Every use created evidence.
Daniel finished wrapping my hand.
Then handed me his old phone.
“Call whoever you trust.”
I reached inside my robe.
Still there.
A slim black emergency phone hidden in a sewn pocket.
Daniel blinked.
“You had a phone?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you call from the mansion?”
“Because I needed to know.”
“Know what?”
I looked toward the rain.
“Whether any of them would stop.”
He said nothing.
At midnight, I called Naomi.
She answered on the first ring.
“Evelyn?”
“They all failed.”
Silence.
Then:
“Are you safe?”
I looked at Daniel, spreading a blanket beside the door where he intended to sleep.
“Yes.”
“Do you want me to activate the trust restrictions?”
“Not yet.”
Naomi hesitated.
“What are you waiting for?”
“One more thing.”
Daniel glanced toward me.
I continued.
“Freeze the decoy accounts. Preserve every transfer. Notify CrossShield’s independent directors. But do not touch the controlling trust.”
Naomi lowered her voice.
“And the children?”
“Let them celebrate.”
I ended the call.
Daniel stared at me.
“What exactly did they think they stole?”
“Everything.”
“And what did they actually steal?”
I smiled faintly.
“Enough evidence to convict themselves.”
Before he could answer, his phone rang.
Unknown number.
Daniel looked confused.
He answered.
A woman’s voice came through so loudly I heard every word.
“Mr. Reyes, stop helping Evelyn Cross.”
Daniel froze.
“Who is this?”
“You have a younger brother, correct?”
His expression changed.
Then the caller said:
“Walk away from the old woman, or he loses his housing tomorrow.”
The line went dead.
I stared at Daniel.
My children had found us already.
May you like
But the part that frightened me most was not the threat.
It was that none of them should have known Daniel had a younger brother.
