Chapter 17 - Walter Bennett Finally Lowered His Head
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Walter arrived at my house the next morning.
I had agreed to meet him there while Sophie was visiting my friend.
Daniel wasn't home.
He had been staying with a former coworker since I told him we needed to live separately while the legal and financial situation was investigated.
Walter stood on my porch holding a brown envelope.
For the first time in sixteen years, he looked uncertain about whether he would be welcomed inside.
I opened the door.
“Come in.”
He stepped into the living room.
His eyes moved over the family photographs hanging above the fireplace.
One showed Daniel holding Sophie on the day she was born.
Walter stopped in front of it.
“She was so small.”
I said nothing.
He turned toward me.
“Claire, I've been a fool.”
I wasn't prepared for that.
He sat on the edge of the sofa.
Then he opened the envelope.
Inside were copies of old property records, tax notices, and several letters.
He handed them to me.
“Evelyn told me the lake property had been sold years ago.”
I examined the documents.
“Wasn't it?”
“Not completely. The ownership was moved into a company connected to her family.”
“Morrow Advisory?”
Walter nodded.
“I didn't understand what she'd done until I found these papers.”
I looked through the correspondence.
There were references to unpaid obligations, penalties, and threatened collection proceedings.
Walter continued.
“This fall, I was told the property had a serious tax problem. Daniel said he'd take care of it.”
“With fifty-one thousand dollars.”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“And you never asked where he got that money?”
Walter lowered his head.
“I asked once. He said he'd received a large commission and had been saving.”
“Did you believe him?”
“I wanted to.”
The honesty surprised me.
Walter rubbed his hands together.
“When a man has spent his life telling everyone his son is successful, he doesn't always ask questions that might prove him wrong.”
I sat across from him.
“Do you know how many years I paid your bills?”
He nodded.
“Daniel finally told me.”
“Do you know how many times Evelyn made me feel unwelcome in your home?”
Walter looked away.
“Claire—”
“And when Rebecca hit me, you opened the door.”
His eyes filled.
“I know.”
“You didn't even ask whether I was hurt.”
“I know.”
I waited.
Walter removed the silver watch from his coat pocket.
He placed it on the coffee table.
“I don't deserve this.”
“Walter, I don't want the watch.”
He nodded slowly.
“I didn't come here to ask for anything.”
“Then why did you come?”
He looked at the photograph of Sophie again.
“Because I owe you an apology.”
The words were quiet.
No audience.
No demands.
No excuses.
“I was wrong, Claire.”
I felt tears burn behind my eyes.
But I didn't move toward him.
An apology couldn't erase six years of disrespect.
It couldn't erase Christmas Eve.
And it certainly couldn't erase the debt.
“I appreciate you saying that,” I replied. “But things aren't going back to the way they were.”
Walter nodded.
“I understand.”
He stood to leave.
Then paused at the door.
“One more thing.”
I looked at him.
“When I confronted Evelyn about the company, she said something strange.”
“What?”
“She said you would never understand what she had done for this family.”
I frowned.
“Did she explain?”
“No.”
May you like
Walter's expression darkened.
“But she told me Daniel wasn't the first person who had needed her help keeping a secret.”
