Chapter 7 - The Granddaughter's Return
Kayla stood under the dim yellow porch light with her arms wrapped tightly around her stomach.
Her expensive makeup was heavily smudged with tears, and her fancy high heels were caked in mud.
"Can I come in, Grandpa?" she whispered, her voice cracking with exhaustion.
I immediately stepped aside and guided her into the warm hallway.
I led her past the living room and directly into the kitchen, where the massive amount of food was still neatly packed in the refrigerator.
Gloria was still asleep in her bedroom, so I kept the kitchen lights completely dim.
I pulled out a chair for Kayla and heated up a large bowl of the leftover peach cobbler.
I placed the warm dessert and a silver spoon in front of her.
She didn't look at her phone, and she didn't complain about the presentation.
She picked up the spoon and began eating the cobbler as if she hadn't eaten in days.
"You ran away from your own birthday party at Rosewood," I observed quietly.
Kayla swallowed hard and wiped a tear from her cheek.
"It was never actually my birthday party, Grandpa."
She pushed the half-empty bowl away and looked at me with incredibly sad, tired eyes.
"Mom didn't invite my real friends to that restaurant."
"She invited seventy-five wealthy strangers because Dad's consulting business is completely bankrupt."
I sat down across from her, the reality of the forged mortgage suddenly making horrifying sense.
"He owes a lot of money to some very bad people, doesn't he?" I asked softly.
Kayla nodded, her hands trembling on the wooden table.
"The people at Rosewood tonight were private investors, and Mom thought she could convince them to give Dad another massive loan."
"She needed everyone to think we were still rich, which is why she didn't want to use your backyard."
"When Dad's credit cards declined in front of the whole room, the main investor just stood up and laughed at him."
Kayla buried her face in her hands and began sobbing quietly.
"They humiliated Dad, and then they told Mom that time was officially up."
I reached across the table and gently patted my granddaughter's shoulder.
"You don't have to go back to that house tonight," I promised her.
"You can stay here in the guest room where it is completely safe."
Kayla looked up at me, her face pale with a terrifying realization.
"You don't understand, Grandpa."
"The investor didn't just tell Mom that time was up."
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"He told her that since Dad couldn't pay the debt, they were going to collect the collateral tomorrow morning."
"And the collateral Dad promised them wasn't his house."
