Chapter 9 - The Final Trap Remains Closed
Paige wanted to open the envelope.
Her fingers ached with it.
She wanted to tear the seal, unfold the paper, hear her father’s final words in the only way left.
She wanted answers.
Why under the roses?
Why now?
Why Penelope?
Why a trap?
What had he known?
How long had he suspected Calvin, Tabitha, or Kyle?
But Penelope had said not yet.
And Paige had learned, painfully, that timing was not cowardice.
Sometimes timing was survival.
She held the envelope against her chest.
Tabitha watched the movement with hatred.
“Open it,” she demanded.
Paige’s eyes narrowed.
“You just told me I can’t keep it.”
“I want to see what game he played.”
“My father did not play games.”
Tabitha laughed, but it shook.
“Rich old men always play games. They call them wills.”
Paige’s face hardened.
The will would not be revealed.
Not here.
Not in the garden.
Not with Tabitha standing close enough to run, lie, or twist the first sentence she heard.
Penelope’s voice came through the phone.
“Do not respond to that.”
Paige obeyed.
Tabitha hated the obedience more because it was not to her.
She pointed toward the mansion again.
“Calvin is going to destroy you for this.”
Paige’s eyes lifted.
“There.”
Tabitha froze.
“What?”
Paige glanced toward the phone.
“That threat recorded clearly.”
Tabitha’s face went white.
For the first time, she looked truly frightened.
Not just inconvenienced.
Not just angry.
Frightened.
The garden breeze rose, shaking the white roses between them.
The envelope’s damp edge pressed into Paige’s palm.
Penelope’s voice softened slightly.
“Paige, secure the envelope. Say nothing more about its location. I am going to give you instructions.”
Tabitha backed toward the gate.
No one stopped her.
No one knew whether she would leave, call Calvin, or try something worse later.
That remained hidden.
Unresolved.
Paige kept her eyes on her.
The phone kept recording.
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The envelope stayed closed.
Read Chapter 10 👉 Because the trap was still sealed, and Tabitha’s last threat gave Paige one more piece of proof before the garden went silent.
