Chapter 25: The Mercer Family's Last Move

By noon, the Mercer family had received the legal notice.

Grant called me seven times before I finally answered.

The moment I picked up, his voice came through strained and furious.

"Mara, what have you done?"

I looked out through the kitchen window at the gardens my mother had planted.

"I protected what belongs to me."

"You know the hearing is in three days. You can't seriously intend to fight your own fiancé's family."

"Ex-fiancé," I corrected.

Silence followed.

For the first time, the word sounded real.

Grant lowered his voice.

"Don't do this. Come home. We can fix everything."

"You had months to fix everything."

"I made mistakes."

"You made choices."

His breathing grew heavier.

"Sloane needs me."

I closed my eyes.

Even now, it was always Sloane.

"Then stay with her."

I ended the call.

Less than an hour later, a black SUV stopped outside the gates.

Grant stepped out with his father and Sloane.

I watched them approach through the security camera feed.

My attorney had already warned me they might try to pressure me before the hearing.

I opened the front door but stayed behind the threshold.

Grant stared at me.

He looked exhausted, but there was something else in his expression now.

Fear.

"Mara, please."

His father stepped forward.

"This doesn't need to become a legal battle."

I almost smiled.

"You forged documents concerning my mother's property. I think we're well past a family disagreement."

His father's face hardened.

"Be careful what you accuse people of."

"I'm not accusing anyone. I'm letting the evidence speak."

Sloane suddenly stepped forward.

Tears filled her eyes.

"Mara, I never wanted your house."

I looked at her calmly.

"Then why did you sign a lifetime residential agreement for it?"

Her face went pale.

Grant immediately moved between us.

"She didn't know what she was signing."

"Then why did she sign it?"

He had no answer.

My attorney appeared behind me with another folder.

"Actually, we have something else you should see."

He opened the folder and placed a printed email in my hand.

It was from Sloane to Grant's father.

The subject line read: "Lighthouse Hill."

The message was short.

Sloane had written that once I married Grant, convincing me to give her the cottage would be easy.

She had even suggested using my wedding day to make me feel guilty enough to agree.

Grant stared at the page.

His face slowly drained of color.

Sloane reached for the paper.

"That's not what I meant."

I pulled it away.

"You don't have to explain it to me."

I looked directly at Grant.

"Explain it to him."

For once, Grant didn't defend her.

He simply stood there, staring at the woman his family had spent years protecting.

And I realized something important.

Their little circle was finally beginning to crack.