Silence again.
For once, he had no control.
“I’ll deal with this,” he said finally. “Just stay out of it.”
“Too late,” I said.
Then I hung up.
I knew what came next.
Confusion.
Panic.
Anger.
Richard didn’t process losing control quietly.
He escalated.
That evening, I returned to the house.
All four of them were waiting in the living room.
Richard paced near the center, jacket off, shirt wrinkled.
Vance stood by the window with his arms crossed.
Evelyn sat composed.
Chloe looked ready to cry.
The door clicked shut behind me.
“Harper,” Richard snapped.
“I’m here.”
He stepped forward.
“What did you do?”
Same question.
Different fear underneath.
“We were trying to make a practical decision for the family.”
I looked at Evelyn.
“For the family,” I repeated.
Chloe let out a shaky breath.
“This is unbelievable,” she said. “You come back and just destroy everything over a house.”
