Chapter 3 - The Brother's Betrayal
I couldn't sleep that night.
The revelations of the evening played on an endless loop in my mind.
I sat on the front porch wrapped in a blanket, watching the sun begin to rise over the fields.
Julia was asleep in the guest room, and Mom had locked herself in the master bedroom.
The sound of tires crunching on the gravel driveway broke the morning silence.
A sleek black SUV pulled up to the front steps.
Steven stepped out of the passenger side, looking completely exhausted and desperate.
The driver’s door opened, and a man in an expensive tailored suit stepped out.
He had cold, calculating eyes that immediately locked onto me.
“Clara,” Steven said, his voice unusually tight.
“This is Mr. Vance.”
My heart hammered against my ribs as I stood up.
“Richard Vance is dead,” I stated firmly.
The man smiled, revealing perfectly white teeth.
“I am his son, Marcus Vance,” he corrected.
“And I believe we have some urgent family business to discuss.”
I gripped the wooden railing of the porch, refusing to back down.
“We have absolutely nothing to discuss,” I told him.
“This farm belongs to Julia, and it is not for sale.”
Marcus chuckled, stepping closer to the porch.
“Julia’s little trust fund trick was clever forty years ago.”
“But unfortunately for her, Steven here has already signed a binding preliminary contract with my company.”
“He represented himself as the sole heir capable of forcing a sale.”
I glared at my brother, disgusted by his sheer greed.
“He lied to you,” I said.
“He didn’t own the land, and neither did Dad.”
Steven ran his hands through his messy hair.
“Clara, you have to listen to me,” he pleaded.
“They are going to ruin me if we don’t push this sale through.”
“I borrowed money from some very bad people who work for Marcus.”
“If Vanguard Development doesn’t get this land, I am a dead man.”
I stared at him, feeling absolutely zero sympathy.
“You tried to take my inheritance, humiliate me at Mom's party, and sell my home.”
“Your gambling debts are your own problem, Steven.”
Marcus Vance sighed, adjusting his expensive tie.
“I was hoping we could handle this quietly,” Marcus said.
“But since Julia has decided to return from the dead, we have a new problem.”
“My father left very specific instructions regarding this property.”
“We don’t just want the land, Clara.”
“We want to erase the evidence that you even exist.”
Before I could react, Marcus pulled a suppressed handgun from inside his jacket.
He pointed it directly at my chest.
Steven gasped and took a step back, raising his hands.
“Whoa, Marcus, this wasn’t part of the deal!” Steven shouted.
“The deal changed when the rightful owner showed up,” Marcus replied coldly.
The front door suddenly swung open behind me.
A loud gunshot shattered the quiet morning air.
Marcus screamed, dropping his weapon as blood blossomed on his shoulder.
May you like
I turned around and saw Julia standing in the doorway holding Dad’s old hunting rifle.
“Get off my property,” Julia commanded, cocking the rifle for a second shot.
