Chapter 4: Evelyn’s Hesitation

👉 Previous Decision: You continued to trace the line with Silas and confronted Evelyn Delancey about the injunction.

The scent of stale coffee and disinfectant hung heavy in the dispatch room. I pushed the post-dated legal brief across my desk towards Evelyn.

“This is illegal,” I said, my voice firm despite the tremor in my hands. “You’re serving me papers based on an unfiled appraisal. That’s fraud.”

Evelyn’s composure shattered. Her shoulders slumped, and she glanced wildly at Silas, who was now intently watching the interaction.

“Julian is out of control,” she whispered, her voice rough. “He’s taken out $2.8 million in private bridge loans. They mature in forty-eight hours.”

She ran a hand through her perfectly styled hair, leaving it disheveled. “He needs you declared legally incompetent. He wants to force the sale of Hollister House by tonight. It’s the only collateral he has left.”

I stared at her, the sudden shift in her demeanor jarring. This wasn’t the ruthless corporate attorney I expected.

“He wants to sell my home?” I asked, a bitter taste in my mouth.

“He’s been trying to mortgage it for months,” Evelyn confirmed, her voice barely audible. “But there’s an anomaly. Something in the historic property deeds. He ordered me to destroy it.”

Her eyes, usually cold and calculating, held a flicker of desperation. She bit her lip, looking around the dispatch room as if searching for an escape.

“A hidden clause?” I prompted, a cold dread twisting in my gut.

Evelyn nodded, her gaze fixed on mine. “A reversion clause. It could void everything. Everything he’s done.”

Deputy O’Donnell, who had been chatting quietly by the coffee machine, looked over at the sudden intensity in our conversation.

“Are you serious?” I asked, leaning forward. “Julian’s scheme could collapse?”

Evelyn’s breath hitched. “He’s planning to frame me for tax fraud if this goes south. He’s already set up a paper trail to make it look like I was the one who forged the power of attorney documents.”

She reached for her briefcase, her fingers fumbling with the clasp. The weight of Julian’s malice settled in the air between us.