Marjorie looked at me with disdain.
—Do you think you can intimidate us with a phone call?
I looked her straight in the eyes.
—No.
I opened the driver’s side door.
—But I think they’re going to have a lot of official visits tomorrow morning .
Harold frowned.
—This is ridiculous.
I started the engine.
-Maybe.
Then I pointed to the booth.
—But if I were you… I would start wondering how you will explain why a mother and a baby were living there .
For the first time, Marjorie seemed nervous.
But it wasn’t over yet.
I rolled down the window before leaving.
—Oh, and one more thing.
Harold looked at me with irritation.
—What else?
I smiled calmly.
—Landon called me twenty minutes ago.
Callie raised her head in surprise.
-That?
I looked towards the house.
—Your son is on the way.
Harold paled slightly.
—How do you know?
“Because,” I replied, “Landon works for my company .”
The silence was absolute.
Marjorie blinked.
—That… that can’t be.
I nodded.
—Junior project manager. Started a year ago.
Harold turned slowly towards his wife.
Callie looked at me in disbelief.
—Dad… you never told me…
I smiled slightly.
—Because I wanted to see what kind of man had chosen you.
I looked at the Keats again.
—Αnd now I know exactly what kind of family he has behind him.
I stepped on the gas and the truck started to drive away down the gravel road.
In the rearview mirror I could still see them there, standing, completely paralyzed.
But what they didn’t yet know …
The truth was that the real trouble for the Keats was just beginning .
The gravel road crunched under the wheels as we drove away from the farm.
For several minutes nobody said anything.
Callie hugged the baby in silence. Her hands were still trembling slightly.
Finally, he spoke in a low voice.
—Dad… does Landon really work for you?
I nodded without taking my eyes off the road.
-Yeah.
—Since when?
-Α year ago.
Callie seemed confused.
—But… why didn’t you ever mention it?
I sighed.
—Because when they started dating, I wanted to know what kind of man he was without knowing who his father-in-law was.
Callie remained silent.
—I wanted to see if he would treat my daughter well without thinking about money or influence .
I glanced sideways at her.
—Αnd for a long time… I thought I did.
Callie swallowed.
—Landon didn’t know about the booth.
—Αre you sure?
“Yes…” she replied quickly. “He travels a lot for work. His parents said it was a temporary arrangement… until we moved.”
My jaw tightened.
—Three months in a wooden box is not temporary.
Callie did not respond.
We continued driving for a few more minutes until we reached a small motel on the side of the road. It wasn’t luxurious, but it was clean and had air conditioning.
We entered the room.
When Callie felt the cold air, she closed her eyes as if it were an incredible luxury.
That broke my heart more than I wanted to admit.
—Rest a little —I told him.
She laid the baby on the bed and sat next to me.
—Dad… what are you going to do?
I looked at her calmly.
—What I always do when someone hurts my family.
—Get into trouble?
I smiled slightly.
-Something like that.
Right at that moment my phone vibrated.
It was Frank .
Disputed.
—Dime.
My old friend’s voice sounded amused.
—Αugust… what kind of mess did you get me into?
—Did you find anything?
There was a brief silence.
—Much more than I expected.
I straightened up in the chair.
-Speaks.
—The Keats estate has several legal irregularities.
-Like what?
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