Chapter 7 - The Gate Behind Tabitha
The garden gate stood open behind Tabitha.
Black iron.
Tall enough to look decorative.
Heavy enough to feel final.
Tabitha backed toward it with one hand at her throat, diamonds trembling against her skin.
Then she stopped.
Her eyes returned to Paige’s apron.
To the envelope.
To the phone.
“You can’t keep that,” she said.
Paige looked down briefly.
“My father hid it for me.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Penelope told me not to open it.”
“She’s manipulating you.”
Paige almost smiled.
It was faint and joyless.
“Funny. That word appears every time a woman stops obeying.”
Tabitha’s mouth tightened.
Penelope’s voice stayed calm.
“Paige, do not discuss the contents. Secure the envelope and maintain distance.”
Tabitha snapped toward the phone.
“There are no contents.”
Paige’s eyes lifted.
“How do you know?”
Silence.
The garden seemed to brighten around them, every leaf and petal suddenly too sharp.
Tabitha realized the mistake instantly.
Her lips trembled.
“I mean, it could be anything.”
Paige nodded slowly.
“But you already decided it should be nothing.”
Tabitha looked away.
That was another confession of fear.
Paige stepped closer to the rose bush where she had found the envelope, careful not to approach Tabitha.
She looked at the soil.
There was a shallow groove beneath the leaves, almost invisible unless someone tended the roses daily.
Her father had trusted her routine.
Trusted grief, even.
He knew she would come here.
He knew she would prune what needed cutting.
That nearly broke her.
But Tabitha was still watching, so Paige held herself upright.
Penelope spoke again.
“Has she mentioned Kyle?”
Paige’s eyes moved to Tabitha.
“Yes.”
Tabitha exploded.
“I did not confess anything!”
Paige looked calmly at her apron pocket.
The recording was still running.
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Tabitha saw the gesture and went pale.
Read Chapter 8 👉 Because Tabitha denied confessing after Paige recorded her, and the garden finally turned her arrogance into evidence.
