Page 24 of Riptide
She sat, ignoring the muffins and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Wait, what?" Piper looked between them. "Tell us what? What's going on?"
"Cara's been dealing with something," Reagan said. "We're here to help."
Tom spun his chair around. "Dealing with what?"
This was it. The moment where she either asked for real help or kept drowning alone.
"Someone's blackmailing me," Cara said.
Piper's eyes went wide. "What?"
"Blackmail?" Tom's fingers moved to his keyboard. "Over what?"
"The bakery." Cara forced herself to keep going. "Margaret Sweet. Someone found out... things. And they're threatening to expose me."
"Found out what things?" Tom asked.
"Wait, back up." Piper held up her hand. "Who's blackmailing you? When did this start?"
"Yesterday. A woman came into the bakery. Blaire Mitchell."
"Wait, the Instagram woman?" Piper sat up straighter. "The really pretty one with the perfect hair who ordered the latte? I've seen her around town too. "
"Yeah. That one." Cara's hands tightened on her cup. "She seemed like just another tourist at first. Lifestyle influencer. But then she—" Cara's voice caught. "She told me she knew. That she'd figured it out."
"Figured what out?" Tom was watching her carefully now.
This was the cliff edge. The moment where she either told them or lost them.
“Margaret Sweet wasn't my great-aunt. That the inheritance—" She stopped. Started again. "Someone helped me. A friend. The real heir. They set everything up so I could inherit the bakery. So I could have a fresh start. A new life."
The silence was deafening.
Piper's legs stopped swinging. "Wait. You mean... you're not actually related to Margaret Sweet?"
"No."
"But you said—the whole story about being her grandniece, about finding out about the inheritance?—"
"Was fabricated." Cara forced herself to meet Piper's eyes. "By someone who had the legal right to the estate. Margaret's actual heir. A friend who wanted to help me disappear."
The silence stretched.
Piper looked at her for a long moment, then glanced at her dad. Tom's expression was unreadable.
Wade spoke first. "Okay."
"Okay?" Cara stared at him. "That's it? Just okay?"
"What do you want me to say?" Wade shrugged. "Someone helped you get a fresh start. Now someone else is threatening to expose it. That about cover it?"
"I—yes, but?—"
"Then okay." Wade looked at the others. "Anyone else need more than that?"
Reagan shook her head. "Blaire Mitchell. That's the name we're focusing on. She's the threat. Everything else is background."
