Chapter 13 - The Truth Behind Rosehaven HallNathan turned slowly.
“What do you mean?”
Brooke took a shaky breath.
“Audrey thought the loan would save Rosehaven and pay for the renovations. That's what Celeste told her.”
“And?”
“Celeste was already behind on the property's debt payments. Some of the proposed money was meant to settle obligations Audrey didn't even know existed.”
Dina looked at Brooke.
“Do you have documentation supporting that?”
Brooke nodded and opened another folder.
It contained financial summaries Celeste had distributed during planning meetings.
Brooke had received them because her proposed event-planning contract depended on Rosehaven's financial recovery.
The figures showed overdue obligations and estimated upcoming costs.
Nathan scanned the pages.
“You knew the business was in trouble?”
“I knew things were bad. I didn't know how bad until last week.”
Nathan looked toward Dina.
“Does that change anything?”
“It may clarify motive,” Dina said. “But these summaries don't establish every detail of Celeste's finances. We still need verified records where they're relevant.”
Brooke nodded.
“I understand.”
For the first time, she wasn't asking Nathan to believe her.
She was handing over records so he could find out for himself.
Dina photographed the documents and discussed how to preserve the originals.
Then she turned to Nathan.
“Before we go further, I want to talk about Eli.”
Nathan's expression changed.
“What about him?”
“What's happening with school?”
“He stayed home today.”
“Have you told the school that nobody besides authorized caregivers can pick him up?”
Nathan shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“Do that. And arrange a consultation with a qualified child therapist. He may benefit from support processing what happened.”
Nathan nodded.
Brooke looked down.
“Can I see him?”
“No,” Nathan said.
Her face crumpled.
“I'm his aunt.”
“And you helped arrange for him to be taken somewhere without my permission.”
“I didn't want to lose him.”
Nathan stared at her.
“You should have thought about that before you stopped listening to him.”
Brooke began crying again.
Nathan didn't soften his answer.
But he didn't shout.
He was learning that a boundary didn't need anger to be real.
That evening, Nathan spoke with Eli's school principal.
He updated the authorized pickup list.
Then he contacted a child therapist and scheduled an initial consultation.
When Eli asked why, Nathan explained that sometimes talking with someone trained to help children could make difficult feelings easier to understand.
“Do I have to tell her everything?” Eli asked.
“No.”
“Can I just draw?”
“That's fine.”
Eli seemed relieved.
Later, Nathan began sorting through photographs at home.
Some showed Audrey smiling with him at restaurants.
Others showed family picnics where Eli stood at the edge of the frame.
Nathan noticed a pattern.
In pictures taken before his engagement, Eli usually leaned against him, grinning.
In later photographs, the boy stood farther away.
Sometimes Nathan had one arm around Audrey.
His other hand hung at his side.
He remembered Audrey telling him not to let Eli “cling.”
She'd argued that seven was too old for constant affection.
Nathan had laughed awkwardly.
He'd wanted peace.
And because he wanted peace, he'd allowed his son to feel rejected.
Eli wandered into the room.
“Daddy, can we put Mommy's picture back?”
Nathan turned.
“Which picture?”
“The one from the beach.”
Nathan remembered.
It showed Hannah holding Eli when he was two.
Audrey had asked him to move it from the living room.
She'd said seeing another woman's face every day made her uncomfortable.
Nathan had put it in a drawer.
He went to retrieve it.
Together, he and Eli placed the photograph on the mantel.
Eli smiled.
“Mommy looks happy.”
“She was.”
“Were you happy?”
Nathan looked at Hannah's face.
“Yes.”
Eli considered that.
“Can you be happy again?”
Nathan swallowed.
“I think so.”
“Even without Audrey?”
Nathan smiled sadly.
“Even without Audrey.”
For the first time in days, Eli laughed.
It was a small sound.
But Nathan felt as though someone had opened a window.
His phone vibrated.
A message from Dina appeared.
The lender has confirmed a submission audit is underway. There may be an electronic record identifying who entered the guarantor information.
Nathan read it carefully.
The source of the false application might finally be documented.
But he knew a technical record would answer only part of the question.
It could show who clicked the button.
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It couldn't explain how so many people had decided his son was expendable.
And it couldn't erase the fact that Nathan had been standing beside them for months without seeing it.
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