โIโฆ donโt understand.โ
Mr. Mouton sighed again, either in frustration from having to explain the situation to Ophelia for a third time, or because he was starting to believe she didnโt have the wits to grasp what was happening.
He fidgeted with his cravat as he leaned forward to point at the thickly inked words of the documents in front of her with his free hand. โYour mother stopped making payments on the manor earlier this year. She was a large part of our community, and we recognize how much she did for the grieving families of New Orleans. We tried to prolong this unpleasant part for as long as possible, but the bank started the foreclosure process two months ago. Today marks the countdown to the last thirty days until it becomes our property. We need you both to sign this document stating that you have been informed of the situation.โ
โBut why did she take out a loan in the first place? Grimm Manor has been in our family for generations. My sister and I have lived there our whole lives, and not once have I ever seen a collection letter orโ โโ
He cut her off, double-tapping a line in the document resting on the desk. โIt says right here that she took out a cash loan against the manorโs equity for personal use. Nearly thirty-five thousand dollarsโwith interest. Sheโs only paid five thousand back. See? These are the carbon copies of the checks.โ
Ophelia reached out, almost subconsciously, and tapped her finger once over the line he had just been pointing at before dropping her hands back into her lap as she continued to study the slips of paper between them. He gave her a strange look, but she ignored him as her mind raced to process this new information.
Three of the one-thousand-dollar checks were made out in her motherโs pristine handwriting. The other two, howeverโฆย Ophelia narrowed her eyes. The slight shakiness of the connecting โSโs on Tessie Grimmโs signature was the only giveaway that someone had forged them. She flicked a glance over at Genevieve, who was being oddly quiet in the face of this news, but her sister wouldnโt look back at her.
โWhat can we do to stop this?โ Ophelia demanded. โIf itโs foreclosed on, couldnโt we buy it back from the bank?โ
Mr. Mouton pulled out a pocket watch as he answered. โUnless either of you are going to come up with that money in the next month, I donโt think thereโs anything youย canย do. The demolition date has already been set. The city has had its sights set on that landโas well as your neighborsโ landโfor some time. They want to install more modern housing, maybe even a hotel or two for tourists. My advice would be to sign over the rights now and give yourself a head start to begin considering other places to live.โ
โWell, then we donโt need your advice,โ Ophelia told him before standing up and scraping her chair back. He winced at the sound. โWe wonโt be signing anything. Weโre not going to hand over our home to you.โ
He shook his head in pity. โThe house is getting torn down whether you like it or not, Miss Grimm. Signing the papers is merely a legal formality.โ
At that, Ophelia swiped the papers off his deskย and stalked out of the building, Genevieve silently following on her heels. Mr. Lafitte, who had been unable to join their meeting due to an irate client demanding his attention, gave them a smug look as they passed his desk. It took everything in Ophelia not to give him a crude gesture. Genevieve, however, didnโt resist.
Ophelia pushed her way outside and rushed down the street, wanting to put as much distance between herself, those men, and the bank as possible.
โOphie,โ Genevieve called after her. โSlow down!โ
Ophelia turned into an alley, ducked behind a large stack of wooden crates, and leaned back against the dirty brick wall as she slid to the ground. Touching her forehead to her knees, she focused on steadying her breathing, clutching the crumpled papers for dear life.
Youโre failing your familyโs legacy already, and you havenโt even begun, the Shadow Voice told her.ย Knock on the wall three times and everything will be okay.
She obeyed.ย One, two, three.
โOphie,โ Genevieve said breathlessly as she finally caught up, wrinkling her nose at the grimy alley she now found herself in. โOphelia, letโs discuss this. We need to be realistic with ourselves about the situation.โ
โThereโs nothing to discuss.โ Opheliaโs tone was drenched with bitterness. โWe are not signing over our home to those scam artists. Didnโt you see those checks? The signatures were forged on two of them, so who knows what else they could be lying about. I canโt let this happen.โ
Genevieve bit her lip at the mention of the forged checks. โBut if weโre in debtโฆย wouldnโt it be better to take their deal and just be rid of it? This could finally be our excuse to leaveโtoย travel!ย I know you feel like you have to stay here and take care of Grimm Manor forever butโฆย maybe this is a sign.โ
Deep down, Ophelia knew that Genevieve was probably right. A normal person would be celebrating Grimm Manorโs demolition. A part of her agreed that maybe thisย wasย finally the opportunity to beย free. After all, this wasnโtย herย doing. So, she couldnโt really be blamed for the downfall of their familyโs legacy. But another part of her knew that if she didnโt fight to keep it, she was making a clear choice.
Ophelia shook her head and whispered, โI canโt be a failure. I wonโt.โ
Grimm Manor was theirย homeย and, dreams aside, Ophelia couldnโt imagine leaving the place that raised her. The last place that she could feel her mother and her grandmother. The only place thatย knewย her. Body and soul. Skin and bones. The manorโs dust currently clung to the skirts of her dress, its dirt beneath her fingernails, the scent of wild roses woven in her hair. She had spent all twenty-three years of her life running around the creaking floorboards, playing hide-and-seek within its walls, falling asleep in the parlor after stealing sips of absinthe from its cupboards.
โIโm not giving up that easily, Genevieve,โ she said, louder now, pushing herself up from the ground.
โWhy do you think that would beย giving up?โ Genevieve demanded. โWhy canโt you see that youโre holding yourself back trying to fit into a mold Mother made for you? I know you, Ophie. You want to do bigger things than stay in Grimm Manor for the rest of yourโ โโ
โIt doesnโt matter what Iย want.โ Ophelia shook her head.
โBut Ophieโ โโ
โFor fuckโs sake, Genevieve,ย stop,โ Ophelia snapped, surprising even herself at the venom in her tone. Unlike her sister, Ophelia didnโt use expletives very often. But Genevieveโs optimism was wearing on her nerves. โIโm barely keepingย it together, and you going on and on with this nonsense about leaving and traveling is not helping. Weโre not children anymoreโMother is no longer going to be there to coddle you whenever you make a mistake because you were too impulsive or didnโt think your decisions all the way through. Itโs going to beย meย cleaning up your messes now.โ
โIโve never asked for you to clean up my messes. I can take care of myself. I can help you take care of this, too. Why wonโt you just let meย help?โ Genevieve implored.
โHelp how?โ Ophelia challenged. โBy forging checks?โ
Genevieve winced. โIโฆโ
โI knew it. I know Motherโs handwriting better than anyone, Vivi,โ Ophelia said. โIโve been reading her notes and spell books all my life while youโve been out galivanting with your friends. Did you think I wouldnโt notice such a detail?โ
โI did what I thought was right at the time,โ Genevieve said, tilting her chin up in defiance.
โWhy didnโt you come to me?โ Ophelia implored. โWhy didnโt you ask for help? And where did you even get the money from to write those checks?โ
Genevieve looked away now. โIt doesnโt matter where I got the money. All that matters is I took care of things, alright? I bought us the time we needed then, but we have an opportunity to start freshย now. To stop trying to outrun a problem that will always be ten steps ahead of us.โ
โWhere did you get the money?โ Ophelia pressed.
Genevieveโs fists balled at her side. โWhy canโt you just leave it alone?โ
Ophelia shook her head. โThat tells me all I need to know. Which is exactly my pointโyour good intentions wonโt matter if you stumble into a mess way over your head. And then it will be my job to fix it. Just like the mess weโreย in right now.โ
Genevieveโs face drooped with hurt at Opheliaโs words. In a blink, she spun on her heels and ran out of the alley.
โHell. Genevieve, wait!โ Ophelia called after her.
Genevieve rounded the corner and disappeared. Ophelia picked up her skirts as she chased after her sister, but by the time she made it out of the dank corridor, Genevieve was nowhere in sight.