I Gave Him Half My Liver, Then He Sold My Father's House novel · Chapter 8 of 24

Chapter 8: The Night He Stops Asking Permission

Elena puts the office keys into my palm and points at Cormac's satchel. 'The buyers' file stays on my desk. Every page. You are done acting for them.'

Cormac does not move. Snow presses against the dark windows, and the records office has become too small for the three of us.

'Elena,' he says, 'I have already withdrawn from the instruction.'

'You have withdrawn from the instruction. You have not withdrawn from the consequences. Leave the file.'

He removes the satchel and sets it beside her coffee flask. The leather makes a dull sound against the desk.

Elena turns to me. 'I am acting for you independently. No shared file. No borrowed authority. You give instructions to me, and I decide what they mean before anyone else gets near them.'

The keys press into my skin. They are small, brass, and warmer than they should be.

'You are certain the firm will permit that?' I ask.

'No. I am certain they will complain. Those are different things.'

That is why I trust Elena. She never offers comfort when a fact will do.

She opens the working file and draws out a clipped bundle of bank statements. The paper edges are marked with Patrick's handwriting. Four years of rental deposits sit under my name alone.

Elena places the bundle beneath Gregor's declaration before closing the file. 'These stay here. Nobody returns them to Patrick or Gregor while the review is open.'

I look at the account number. I know it. The rent paid for my mother's private care, month after month, while Gregor spoke of the house as if he had built it himself.

'Patrick filed these with HMRC,' I say.

'He did. Which makes his memory worth testing.'

Cormac's gaze moves to the papers, then back to me. 'Were the deposits made into an account held solely in your name?'

'Yes.'

'And did Gregor have authority over that account?'

'No.'

Elena closes the file with two fingers. 'There. That is your evidence. Do not improve it by explaining it.'

A laugh leaves me before I can stop it. It is brief and dry.

'You make documentation sound almost cheerful.'

'It is the only thing in this building that behaves itself.'

Cormac's mouth shifts. The expression is gone before I can decide whether it is amusement.

Elena reaches for her coat. 'I am going to send the engagement letter and reserve the statements. The registry contact will have the independent representation recorded before Gregor's side can invent a new version of tonight.'

'And Cormac?' I ask.

'Cormac can leave his file and make his own professional decisions.'

He looks at me. 'I am not leaving yet.'

Elena studies him. 'Then do not make Nell responsible for the decision.'

'I am aware of that.'

'Good. Awareness is a poor substitute for sense, but it is where most solicitors begin.'

She takes the keys from my hand, unlocks the outer records door, and places them back in my palm.

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