Chapter 7 - THE DINNER TABLE RECKONING
The dinner where the box was revealed was meant to be a simple family affair. I had invited them over, having meticulously prepared a meal while my nerves hummed like high-voltage wires. My plan was simple: I needed to see how far they would go to protect their secrets, and how much Corey would tolerate.
I started asking polite but pointed questions about their finances, specifically mentioning the contractors I had seen in the floorboard files. Walter’s face went white, Lorraine’s smile froze into a rictus of panic, and Corey looked at me like I had just committed an act of war. The silence that followed was heavy, the air thick with the realization that I knew more than I should, and that the "Queen of the Kitchen" was finally facing an adversary she couldn't dismiss.
