Chapter 6: Everything Paul Didn't Expect
Hailey met with Reyes the following morning.
Grace sat beside her.
I waited in the hallway on a hard plastic chair and watched the door.
The meeting lasted an hour and forty minutes.
When Grace came out, she walked straight to me.
"She gave them everything.
The conversations with Paul.
The name of the offshore account.
The timeline of how the permits were filed." Grace sat down beside me.
"She also had text messages.
Paul sent her a voice note three weeks ago explaining the draw payment structure.
She had saved it."
"She saved it."
"She said she had a bad feeling and didn't delete it." Grace looked at me steadily.
"Reyes is applying for a warrant for Paul Gerrity's financial records today.
He's also flagging the offshore account to federal partners — when money moves across borders, it stops being just a state matter."
I put my hands flat on my knees.
"Brandon," I said.
"Brandon is being charged with forgery and fraudulent use of personal identification.
His attorney is already in damage-control mode — they'll likely argue he was acting under Paul's direction, that he was a secondary participant." Grace's voice was even.
"That may reduce what he faces.
It won't eliminate it."
"And the house?"
"The permits have been voided.
The contractor — Marcus Webb — has been referred for investigation separately.
Your house is clear." She paused.
"It was always your house, Charlotte.
They never got close enough to actually take it."
I nodded.
I didn't say anything for a moment.
"What happens to Hailey?"
"She's a witness, not a suspect.
Reyes was clear about that." Grace looked at me.
"She asked me to ask you something."
"What?"
"Whether you hate her."
I thought about Skylar on Sunday nights, spreading cards across the coffee table, explaining the rules to Hailey with the patience of someone twice her age.
I thought about Hailey laughing and getting it wrong on purpose so Skylar could correct her.
"No," I said.
"I don't hate her."
Grace nodded.
"I'll tell her."
The warrant for Paul Gerrity's records was executed that afternoon.
I wasn't there for it, but Reyes called Grace at four o'clock, and Grace called me at four fifteen.
"They found the offshore account," she said.
"And three others.
Paul had been running this structure for at least two years.
Your house wasn't the first target."
"There were other people."
"At least four other cases with similar permit structures.
Different cities, different victims.
Reyes is coordinating with two other departments." A pause.
"Charlotte, Paul Gerrity is going to be in federal court.
This is significantly larger than what started in your kitchen."
I was standing in Dana's backyard when she called.
The late afternoon sun was low and flat across the grass.
Skylar was inside doing homework at the kitchen table.
I could see her through the window — head bent, pencil moving.
"Grace," I said.
"When does this end?"
"The criminal process will take time.
Months, possibly longer." Her voice softened slightly.
"But the threat to you and Skylar — that part is already over.
Brandon is out of the house, the accounts are frozen, and the permits are void.
You can go home."
I looked at Skylar through the glass.
"Not yet," I said.
"I want one more week here.
I want Skylar to feel settled before I move her again."
"That's completely reasonable."
"And I want the locks changed before we go back."
"Already on my list," Grace said.
I hung up and stood in the yard a while longer.
The sun dropped behind the neighbor's fence.
The light went flat and gray.
Inside, Skylar looked up from her homework and saw me through the window.
She waved.
I waved back.
Then my phone buzzed one final time that day.
A text from a number I didn't recognize — but the area code was Paul Gerrity's city.
*"You should have taken the deal.
This isn't finished."*
I screenshotted it.
May you like
Forwarded it to Grace and to Reyes.
Then I blocked the number and went inside to help Skylar with her homework.
