“Good morning, Rebecca,” Walter said.
I held up the box. “What’s going on, Walter? Why did you send the cops to my house? And what does this mean?”
Walter asked me to sit. I didn’t.
“My late wife used to say,” he began, “that kindness shows up when no one is watching. Not when it’s convenient. Not when there’s a reward attached.”
I crossed my arms. “I don’t understand.”
“My son has everything a man could want. But everyone who enters his life sees what he has before they see who he is. I wanted to see if kindness still existed when no one expected anything in return.”
“So… you lied to me?” I snapped. “You put me in a position where I thought you were going without food. I made financial decisions based on that. That was not a test. That was real.”
Walter hesitated. “You’re right. I overdid it.”
“You didn’t just test me, Walter. You put me in a position where I had to choose between helping you and paying my rent.”
He looked down. “One of the officers outside is a long-time friend. The rest are my private security team. I thought it would feel more official… perhaps a bit theatrical. I’m sorry.”
“You thought a convoy at seven in the morning was sensible?”
“In retrospect, perhaps not my finest decision.”
A voice behind me startled me. “Dad. What exactly is happening here?”
I turned. A tall, well-dressed man stood in the doorway.
