Garrett and Brianna stormed into the clearing with Gaines beside them, demanding to know why strangers were living on “their” property. I climbed out, holding the steel case against my chest, and told them the cabin belonged to Rafael’s family now by a deed I had recorded two weeks earlier. Gaines went pale. Garrett lunged for the case, and Rafael stepped between us, calm and steady.

Marian Holt arrived minutes later, called by Lucia on my instruction, with two deputies behind her. She explained that Raymond had grown suspicious when his signature appeared on documents he never saw. He had hired her, signed a new will, and recorded a meeting where Garrett, Brianna, and Gaines discussed declaring him unfit. I played it right there, and Garrett’s laughter filled the woods as he said I would be “grateful for scraps.”

The true will left me the house, the accounts, and the business, with a modest trust for Garrett that would open only if he proved honest. Gaines was arrested for fraud and forgery, and Brianna cried that she had only followed instructions. Garrett sank onto a stump and said nothing at all. I told him I loved him, and I could not trust him, and that both things were true.

I returned to Willow Creek, but the cabin stayed with Rafael, Lucia, and Valentina, and I hired Rafael to run the maintenance at the business. Garrett found a job, attended counseling, and repaid what he had taken. Every Sunday, I drive to Glen Hollow for dinner, and Valentina meets me at the door and says, “The floor still talks, lady.”