Matt gave him a look so cold it could have frozen the pavement. He told Vance they remembered exactly who he was. Vance’s smile faltered. Gabe stepped forward and mentioned the “zoning issues” and the “tax liens” that had destroyed Eleanor’s business. He revealed that they had spent the last year quietly buying up every property Vance owned.
Vance turned pale. Dan added that they’d also uncovered the paper trail of his “donations” to the local officials who had helped him steal Eleanor’s land. The crowd gasped. Vance tried to sputter an excuse, but Matt told him his time in this town was over. They had turned over the evidence to the state attorney general that morning.
Eleanor watched as the man who had bullied her for years shrunk into nothing. She didn’t feel spite; she just felt a profound sense of peace. Gabe leaned in and told her she’d never have to worry about a bill or a “code violation” again. They were here to take her home.
Matt took her hand and told her they had one more thing to tell her. They had found out what happened to her son, Steve. Eleanor’s heart stopped. Gabe explained that when they were in the city, before they were “found,” they had met a man in a shelter who had shared his last bit of bread with them. That man was Steve.
He had been sick, but he had told them about his mother, Eleanor, who ran a diner and had a heart of gold. He had told them that if they ever got out, they should find her and tell her he loved her. Steve had passed away shortly after, but he hadn’t died alone—he’d died with the three boys he’d helped save. Eleanor wept, but they were tears of closure.
The boys had used their resources to bring Steve’s remains back to the town cemetery, giving him the proper memorial he deserved. Eleanor felt the last of her old wounds finally begin to heal. Matt, Gabe, and Dan weren’t just heirs to a fortune; they were the legacy of her own son’s kindness, coming back to her when she needed it most.
