Chapter 2 - THE FOLDER
My father didn't sleep that night.
Neither did I.
I stayed in my bedroom with the door slightly open.
From upstairs, I could hear voices coming from his office.
My grandmother was there.
My uncle was there.
Maria was there.
They spoke quietly.
Every few minutes, my father's voice became louder.
“What exactly did she take?”
Then silence.
Then Maria answered.
“I don't know yet.”
I pulled the blanket around myself.
I didn't understand why everyone was so frightened.
I only knew something had changed.
Before Vanessa came into our house, my father had been different.
He laughed more.
He ate dinner with me.
He sometimes helped me with homework.
After she arrived, everything became about her.
She told him I was disrespectful.
She told him I was jealous.
She told him I was trying to keep him from being happy.
And slowly, Dad believed her.
That night, I began wondering how long she had been planning it.
The next morning, Dad came into my room.
He sat on the edge of my bed.
“Ethan.”
I looked at him.
“Yes?”
“I need to ask you something.”
I nodded.
“Has Vanessa ever asked you questions about your mother?”
I froze.
“My mom?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of questions?”
“Where her things are. What she left you. Whether you know anything about your inheritance.”
I shook my head.
“She asked me where Grandma kept Mom's jewelry.”
Dad's eyes narrowed.
“When?”
“Last month.”
“Anything else?”
“She asked if Mom had a safe.”
My father stood immediately.
“Did you tell her?”
“No.”
“Good.”
He walked to the window.
I watched him.
“Dad?”
He turned.
“Why?”
He hesitated.
“Because your mother left you something.”
“What?”
“Something important.”
He didn't explain.
That afternoon, Dad called an attorney.
His name was Michael Grant.
He was an older man with gray hair and a calm voice.
He arrived carrying a black briefcase.
I was sitting in the living room when he came in.
He looked at me.
Then at Dad.
“Is this Ethan?”
“Yes.”
Michael nodded.
“I've known your mother for a long time.”
I stared at him.
“You knew my mom?”
“Yes.”
“What was she like?”
Michael smiled.
“She was stubborn.”
Dad laughed quietly.
“That sounds right.”
“And she didn't trust easily.”
Dad's smile disappeared.
Michael opened his briefcase.
“She was right not to.”
He placed a document on the table.
It was a copy of my mother's will.
I had never seen it before.
My name appeared several times.
Michael pointed to one section.
“Your mother created a protected trust.”
Dad looked at me.
“She wanted you protected until you were old enough to control it yourself.”
“How much money?”
Michael didn't answer immediately.
“Enough that people might become interested in you for the wrong reasons.”
Dad's jaw tightened.
“That's why Vanessa went after the documents.”
Michael nodded.
“She may have been trying to access the trust.”
“But how?”
“Through you.”
Dad stared at him.
Michael continued.
“She needed you to believe that Ethan was unstable, difficult, or incapable of managing his own affairs.”
My stomach tightened.
“Could she take my money?”
“Not directly.”
“Then what was she doing?”
Michael opened another file.
“Your mother established conditions.”
“What conditions?”
“If anyone attempts to manipulate your inheritance before your eighteenth birthday, the trustee can freeze the assets and investigate.”
Dad frowned.
“Then why would Vanessa risk it?”
Michael looked at him.
“Because she may not be after the money itself.”
“What else?”
“The company.”
Silence.
Dad sat down.
“What does my company have to do with Ethan's inheritance?”
Michael opened another folder.
“Your late wife's family owns a controlling block of shares.”
Dad stared at the documents.
“I thought those shares transferred to me.”
“They did temporarily.”
“Temporarily?”
“Until Ethan turns eighteen.”
I looked at my father.
“What does that mean?”
Michael answered gently.
“Your mother wanted you to inherit the company.”
My father looked stunned.
“How much?”
“Fifty-two percent.”
The room went silent.
I didn't understand what fifty-two percent meant.
But Dad did.
He stood.
“Vanessa knew.”
Michael nodded.
“Someone told her.”
“Who?”
Michael closed the folder.
“We don't know.”
Dad paced across the room.
“She wasn't just trying to get rid of Ethan.”
“No.”
“She was trying to control his inheritance.”
“Yes.”
I suddenly remembered something.
“Dad?”
He stopped.
“Vanessa asked me something.”
“What?”
“She asked if I knew where Mom kept her blue box.”
Dad's face changed.
“What blue box?”
“I don't know.”
Michael looked at him.
“Your wife had a blue box?”
Dad shook his head.
“Not that I remember.”
I looked toward the staircase.
“Grandma knows.”
Dad immediately called for her.
My grandmother entered a few minutes later.
She looked at the documents.
Then she looked at me.
“What did you tell them?”
“Vanessa asked about Mom's blue box.”
My grandmother went pale.
Dad noticed.
“Mom?”
She sat down.
“I thought it was gone.”
“What was in it?”
She looked at me.
“Your mother's original documents.”
Michael leaned forward.
“Which documents?”
“My daughter's birth records.”
Dad frowned.
“We have those.”
“No.”
Grandma shook her head.
“Those are copies.”
My father stared at her.
“Where is the original?”
Grandma looked toward the fireplace.
Then she whispered:
“Your mother told me never to let anyone find it.”
Michael stood.
“Why?”
Grandma's eyes filled with tears.
“Because it proves who your mother's real family was.”
I didn't understand.
Dad did.
He asked quietly:
“Who?”
Grandma looked at me.
Then at the folder.
“The Bennett family isn't the family your father thinks it is.”
The room became completely silent.
Then the front gate camera alarm sounded.
Maria rushed in.
“Mr. Bennett.”
“What?”
“There is someone outside.”
“Who?”
She handed him a photograph.
Dad looked at it.
His face became pale.
The person standing outside the gate was Vanessa.
But she wasn't alone.
Beside her stood a man none of us recognized.
Michael looked at the photograph.
Then he whispered:
“That man was one of your mother's attorneys.”
Dad's eyes narrowed.
“He died fifteen years ago.”
Michael shook his head.
“No.”
“He did.”
“I attended his funeral.”
May you like
Michael pointed at the photograph.
“Then explain why he is standing outside your gate.”
