Chapter 4 - A Calculated Silence
Callie knew she couldn't just run to the police yet. Joel was a wealthy, influential contractor in Fairview. He had connections, and he had already proven he was willing to forge legal documents and threaten Callie's freedom. If she made a clumsy move, Joel’s lawyers would tie her up in court until she ran out of money, or worse, they would find a way to legally take Geneva back to silence her.
She had to play smart. She had to play weak.
When they got back to the apartment, Callie hid the documents and the ledger in a secure, fireproof safe hidden under her floorboards. She left the empty velvet pouch on her kitchen counter as bait.
An hour later, her phone rang. It was Joel.
"Callie," his voice was deceptively warm, though there was an edge of steel underneath. "I saw your car downtown today. You were near the old bank. What were you doing?"
Callie forced her voice to shake, feigning panic and exhaustion. "Joel... please, I don't know what to do. Grandma is getting worse. She keeps screaming about some box and a key. I went down to the bank to see if she had any money left to help buy her medicine, but they told me the account was closed. I'm drowning here, Joel. I can't afford her diapers, and her medicine is so expensive. Can't you just give me a little bit of the money from her house sale?"
There was a long pause on the other end. Callie could hear Joel whispering to Dakota.
"Listen to me, Callie," Joel said, his tone shifting to patronizing pity. "We told you, there is no money. The house had a massive mortgage we had to pay off. If you can't handle her, we can arrange for her to go to a... specialized state facility. It's far away, in the northern county, but they'll take her. You just need to sign her over to us completely. We’ll handle the paperwork."
"A state facility?" Callie sniffled, acting as if she were crying. "But I love her... let me think about it. I'm just so tired. I can barely think straight."
"Don't take too long, Callie. Before the state steps in and charges you with elder neglect. We're trying to help you here."
Joel hung up.
May you like
Callie wiped her fake tears away, her face hardening. They want me to sign her over so they can lock her away in a state asylum where she will never be heard from again, she realized. They want to bury her alive to protect their stolen fortune.
"Never," Callie whispered fiercely to the empty room. "Not on my watch."
