Chapter 9 - The Breakfast Ultimatum
Saturday morning arrived cold and gray.
Grant prepared breakfast.
He placed eggs on everyone’s plates and poured coffee as though they were a normal family.
Then he locked the front door.
Claire heard the deadbolt turn.
Grant placed the divorce petition beside her plate.
“My attorney says this is generous.”
“You mean Serena?”
“My attorney prepared it.”
“Serena helped.”
Grant’s eyes narrowed.
Claire had revealed too much.
Evelyn looked between them.
“What does Serena have to do with your divorce?”
“Nothing,” Grant said.
Robert remained standing near the entryway.
He had spent the night deciding whether to protect his son again.
Claire did not know which choice he had made.
Grant pushed a pen across the table.
“Sign it and get out.”
“No.”
His hand struck the table.
Coffee splashed across the papers.
Evelyn began crying.
“Grant, stop.”
He ignored her.
He told Claire the bank owned the house.
He claimed sheriff’s deputies would remove her by evening.
He said every account in her name had already been frozen.
Claire reached for her phone.
Grant seized her wrist.
“Who are you calling?”
“My lawyer.”
He tried to take the phone.
Claire pulled away.
Grant slapped her.
The room went silent.
Claire’s cheek burned.
Robert appeared in the doorway, his face filled with horror.
Evelyn covered her mouth and sobbed.
Grant pointed at the papers.
“Sign it and get out.”
Claire looked down at the false settlement.
Then her phone lit up.
Nora’s message appeared.
DO NOT SIGN. THE LAKE HOUSE DEED IS STILL IN YOUR NAME.
Grant saw it.
“That house was never yours,” he shouted.
Claire’s tears stopped.
The fear that had controlled her for months became something colder.
“You lied to everyone.”
Grant lunged toward the phone.
The doorbell rang.
Through the window, Claire saw Nora approaching with a thick folder.
The lawyer entered and placed the documents on the table.
May you like
“We found the forged deed.”
👉 Grant thought Nora had brought only a property challenge, but the folder also contained evidence that could destroy his resort deal within minutes.
