“Everything okay?” I answered immediately, concerned by the unexpected call. Our daily video chat wasn’t scheduled for several hours.
“I’m not sure,” she replied, her voice tense. “I just had a strange visit from Uncle David.”
My grip tightened on the phone. “David? What did he want?”
“Officially, he came to apologize for his role in trying to manipulate me against you.” She paused. “But something felt off about the whole conversation. He kept asking subtle questions about the farm—whether I visited often, if I’d noticed any unusual activity around the property.”
“Did you tell him anything?”
“Of course not. I kept responses vague and non-committal.” Her voice lowered. “Mom, I think they’re planning something.”
This felt like reconnaissance. A chill that had nothing to do with the winter temperature ran through me. The Mitchell brothers had been suspiciously quiet these past months. Too quiet, perhaps, for men accustomed to fighting for what they wanted.
“I’ll alert Ellis and increase security,” I assured her. “And I’ll have my attorney contact theirs with a reminder about the terms of our agreement.”
“There’s something else,” Jenna added hesitantly. “David mentioned that Robert has been ill. Some heart condition requiring surgery. He tried to play on my sympathy, suggesting that family should come together in difficult times.”
The same heart condition that had taken Joshua—the genetic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy he’d inherited from his father.
I wondered if Robert had hidden his diagnosis from his brothers, just as Joshua had concealed his from us.
“Be careful, Jenna,” I warned. “This could be legitimate—or it could be another manipulation tactic.”
“That’s what I thought.” She sighed. “I hate being suspicious of every interaction with Dad’s family. It shouldn’t be this way.”
After ending the call, I walked to the window overlooking the snow-covered driveway, unease settling in my stomach. The Mitchell brothers had proven themselves ruthless and deceptive. Their apparent retreat might simply be strategic regrouping.
I called Ellis immediately, relaying Jenna’s concerns.
His response was characteristically calm, but resolute. “I’ll alert the security team and check the perimeter surveillance. We installed those systems for exactly this scenario.”
Another of Joshua’s precautions—discreet but comprehensive security throughout the property, with cameras monitoring all access points and motion sensors covering the most vulnerable approaches. At the time, I thought it excessive. Now, I was grateful for his foresight.
That evening, I found myself drawn to the hidden bunker beneath the barn, seeking guidance from Joshua’s meticulously organized records. If the Mitchell brothers were planning another attempt to claim Maple Creek Farm, perhaps he had anticipated this scenario as well.
In the concrete room filled with filing cabinets and maps, I searched for anything related to continued threats post-settlement.
In the bottom drawer of Joshua’s desk, I found a folder labeled simply: If They Return, in his precise handwriting.
Inside was a detailed contingency plan—steps to take if his brothers violated the agreement, including pre-drafted legal injunctions, contact information for Canadian authorities who had investigated their past financial dealings, and, surprisingly, a sealed letter addressed to Robert Mitchell.
A note in Joshua’s handwriting was paperclipped to the envelope:
A last resort. Only deliver if absolutely necessary.
What had my husband written to his estranged older brother that he considered so potentially powerful—or damaging—that it should only be used in extremis?
The envelope was sealed, the contents a final mystery Joshua had left for me to uncover only if circumstances demanded it.
I returned to the main house, the sealed letter secure in my pocket, my mind turning over possibilities and strategies.
Outside, gentle snow began falling again, adding another pristine layer to the winter landscape.
The next morning, Ellis knocked on my door as I was finishing breakfast.
“We have visitors,” he announced, his expression grave. “All three Mitchell brothers—plus two men I don’t recognize. At the gate.” He nodded. “They’re requesting entry. Robert claims it’s a personal family matter, not related to the property dispute.”
I moved to the great room window, which offered a view of the entrance gates in the distance. Two vehicles waited there—the familiar black SUV and a more modest sedan.
“What do you think they really want?” I asked Ellis.
“Nothing good,” he replied bluntly. “But refusing to see them might provoke whatever they’re planning. Better to control the encounter on our terms.”
I considered this, one hand unconsciously touching the letter in my pocket.
“Have security stay alert, but not visible,” I instructed. “Let them approach the main house only. No access to other buildings.”
As Ellis went to convey these instructions, I called my attorney to inform him of the unexpected visit. Then Jenna—to warn her that her uncles had appeared at the farm less than twenty-four hours after David’s casual visit to her.
“Do you want me to come?” she asked immediately. “I can be on the next flight.”
“No,” I decided. “Stay where you are. This might be exactly what they want—to get both of us here, isolated from our legal support system.”
Through the window, I watched the gates open, allowing the two vehicles to proceed up the long driveway.
Stealing myself, I went to my bedroom to retrieve one additional item Joshua had left for precisely this type of confrontation: a small digital recorder disguised as a decorative brooch.
Whatever the Mitchell brothers wanted, I intended to have a record of every word.
When the doorbell rang, I was waiting in the great room, seated calmly in the armchair facing the entryway, the recorder pinned to my sweater, the mysterious letter secure in my pocket.
Ellis answered the door with professional courtesy, ushering in our unwelcome visitors.
Robert entered first, looking noticeably thinner than at our last encounter, his complexion grayish beneath his tan. Alan and David followed, their expressions carefully neutral.
The two strangers brought up the rear—one carrying a medical bag, suggesting he was a physician, the other holding a leather portfolio similar to those favored by legal professionals.
“Catherine,” Robert nodded in greeting, his voice lacking its usual commanding tone. “Thank you for seeing us without an appointment.”
“Family always seems to arrive unexpectedly,” I replied mildly. “Please sit. Ellis, would you bring coffee for our guests?”
As they arranged themselves on the sofas opposite my chair, I noted the tension in their postures, the way Alan kept glancing at Robert with poorly concealed concern.
Whatever had brought them here, it centered on the eldest Mitchell.
“I’ll be direct,” Robert began once Ellis had departed for the kitchen. “I’ve been diagnosed with the same heart condition that took Joshua—hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It runs in the family.”
So Jenna’s information had been accurate. I maintained a neutral expression, waiting for him to continue.
“My condition is advanced. The specialists give me six months without intervention—possibly years with the right treatment.”
He gestured to the man with the medical bag. “This is Dr. Harmon, my cardiologist, and Mr. Pearson, my personal attorney.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your health challenges,” I said carefully. “But I’m not clear on why this brings you to Maple Creek Farm.”
Robert exchanged glances with his brothers before continuing.
“I need a heart transplant, Catherine. But there’s a complication. Our family has a rare blood type and tissue markers that make finding a compatible donor extremely difficult.”
A creeping suspicion began forming in my mind.
“That sounds challenging,” I said, “but again—why come to me with this?”
“Because,” Dr. Harmon interjected professionally, “based on the medical records we’ve reviewed, your late husband would have been a perfect donor match for Robert. And given the genetic factors involved, there’s a significant probability that your daughter might be compatible as well.”
The audacity of their request hit me like a physical blow.
They wanted to test Jenna—to use my daughter’s body as a potential source of salvation for the man who had tried to steal her inheritance and turn her against me.
“You want my daughter to be tested as a potential donor for you?” I clarified, making sure the recorder captured every word of this extraordinary conversation.
“Just preliminary blood work to check compatibility,” Alan jumped in smoothly. “Nothing invasive at this stage.”
“And if she matches,” I pressed, “what then?”
“Then we would hope she might consider becoming a living donor,” Robert replied. “The procedure allows for partial liver transplantation with minimal risk to the donor. Her liver would regenerate completely within months.”
I sat in stunned silence, marveling at their breathtaking entitlement.
After attempting to manipulate, deceive, and defraud us, they now expected my daughter to undergo major surgery for a man she barely knew—a man who had tried to turn her against her own mother.
“Let me understand correctly,” I said finally, my voice steady despite my internal turmoil. “You tried to steal this property from me, attempted to turn my daughter against me with lies and half-truths, and now you’re here asking if she’ll undergo surgery to save your life.”
Robert at least had the grace to look uncomfortable. “I understand how this appears, but we’re still family, Catherine. Blood connects us whether we choose it or not.”
“Blood,” I repeated thoughtfully, remembering Joshua’s videos—his painful history with these men, his determination to protect Jenna and me from their toxic influence. “You’re right about one thing, Robert. Blood does connect us—but not in the way you think.”
I withdrew the sealed letter from my pocket, noting the flash of recognition in Robert’s eyes.
