Chapter 5: The Woman My Mother Appointed
My father's chair scraped backward.
“No,” he whispered.
He enlarged the document until the trustee's name filled the screen.
*CELESTE CARTER.*
The room seemed to shrink around us.
I read the name again, hoping I'd misunderstood.
My mother had created a trust for me before she died. Almost half a million dollars had been placed beyond my reach, supposedly to protect my future.
And she'd appointed the woman who later became my stepmother to oversee it.
“Why would Mom choose Celeste?”” I asked.
Marcus didn't answer immediately.
He studied the document, then checked the date.
“Your mother knew Celeste before I married her,” he finally said.
I turned toward him.
“What?””
He looked as though he regretted the words before they'd fully left his mouth.
“Not well. At least, that's what I understood.””
“How did they know each other?””
“Renee volunteered with a financial literacy program. She helped women who were trying to rebuild their lives after divorce, job loss, or financial abuse. Celeste attended some of those meetings.””
I stared at him.
“You knew that?””
“I knew they'd met. Your mother told me she'd helped someone organize their finances. She didn't give me the person's full story.””
“Did she tell you she trusted Celeste with my money?””
“No.””
His answer was immediate.
I stood and walked toward the window. Outside, a delivery truck passed the house, its engine rumbling faintly through the glass.
My entire understanding of the past was changing.
“Why didn't you know about the trust?”” I asked.
“Because Renee had the right to establish it independently. We had separate accounts, and she managed certain investments herself.””
“But nearly half a million dollars?””
Marcus rubbed his face.
“I knew she'd inherited money from her grandmother. I didn't know she'd placed it in a trust of this size.””
“Did you ever ask?””
“Of course I asked. She told me she'd made arrangements for you. I assumed she meant your college fund and the life insurance policy.””
He looked at the screen again.
“I should have investigated further.””
I wanted to be angry with him, but his expression made it difficult. He looked like someone discovering that the person he'd loved most had left behind a locked room.
And Celeste had been holding the key.
Aria approached us quietly.
“Could Mom have stolen that money, too?””
Neither of us answered.
My father opened the email's attachment details. There was a reference number for the trust administrator and a contact address.
“We need to speak to the trustee's office,” he said.
“Not Celeste. An independent administrator.””
He dialed the number listed in the document.
After several minutes, he was connected to a representative named Ms. Whitaker.
“I'm calling about a trust established by Renee Bennett,” Marcus explained.
“My daughter, Nia Bennett, is the named beneficiary. We've discovered a discrepancy involving the appointed trustee.””
“I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Bennett,” Ms. Whitaker replied.
“For privacy reasons, I'll need to verify the beneficiary's identity before discussing specific records.””
I provided the information she requested.
There was a pause as she checked the file.
“Thank you, Ms. Bennett. I can confirm that the trust exists. However, the account is subject to specific administrative procedures, and I cannot disclose the full balance until we complete identity verification.””
I gripped the edge of the table.
“Can you tell me whether the funds are still there?””
“I can tell you that the trust has an active file. I cannot confirm its current asset value during this call.””
“Who has access to it?””
“The appointed trustee has historically been authorized to submit administrative requests. Any changes to that authorization would need to be reviewed.””
Marcus leaned toward the phone.
“Can you confirm whether Celeste Carter has requested withdrawals?””
“I'm unable to disclose that information without additional verification and the proper documentation.””
He gave a frustrated sigh.
“What do we need to provide?””
“I'll send you a secure verification checklist. Once that's complete, our trust administration team can review the account history and any disputed transactions.””
The call ended.
I looked at my father.
“So we still don't know where the money is.””
“Not yet.””
Aria pulled out a chair.
“What if Mom spent it?””
Marcus's expression hardened.
“Then we'll establish what happened and take the appropriate steps.””
I looked at the laptop box again.
The laptop had cost a fraction of the money in the trust. Yet somehow, that purchase had exposed a network of transactions reaching back years.
I couldn't stop thinking about my mother's signature.
Why had she chosen Celeste?
What had she seen in her that made her trust her with my future?
And why had Celeste married my father after becoming responsible for money that belonged to me?
My phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
The message contained only one sentence.
*If you're looking into Renee's trust, ask your father what happened during the last week of her life.*
My fingers went cold.
I showed Marcus.
He read the message, then immediately called the number.
It went straight to voicemail.
“Who sent that?”” Aria whispered.
“I don't know.””
Marcus checked the number, but it revealed nothing useful.
“Don't respond,” he said.
“We'll give this to the attorney.””
I looked at him.
“What happened during the last week of Mom's life?””
His face tightened.
“Your mother was sick. She spent several days in the hospital before she died.””
“I know that.””
“She was tired. She wasn't always able to explain everything she was thinking.””
“That doesn't answer my question.””
He looked away.
I felt a new kind of fear settle inside me.
“Dad, did something happen that you never told me?””
He sat down slowly.
“Your mother asked me to promise that I'd take care of you. She was worried about what would happen if she wasn't here.””
“Was she worried about Celeste?””
“I don't know.””
“But she appointed Celeste as the trustee.””
“I know.””
“Then something isn't adding up.””
Marcus looked at me, his eyes weary.
“I agree.””
He reached for the printed agreement and turned to the signature page again.
The document included a witness declaration and a date.
Beneath the date was a handwritten instruction in my mother's familiar script.
If Nia ever asks why, tell her the truth.
I touched the paper.
“Why would she write that?””
My father read it silently.
Then he turned to the preceding page.
There, in a section neither of us had examined closely, was a clause concerning the trustee's authority.
It allowed the trustee to manage investments, pay approved educational expenses, and preserve the principal for the beneficiary.
It did not authorize personal withdrawals.
Marcus traced the paragraph with his finger.
“Celeste had no right to use this money for herself.””
“Then why did Mom appoint her?””
“I don't know.””
My phone vibrated again.
This time, the message came from Aria's number.
But Aria was sitting directly across from me.
She looked at her own screen, horrified.
“That wasn't me.””
The message had been sent from her account to mine.
*Mom says if you contact the trust administrator again, she'll make sure you never see a dollar.*
Aria's hands began to shake.
“She has my phone password,” she whispered.
“She must have logged into my messages from her tablet.””
Marcus stood abruptly.
“That's enough. We're securing every account and changing every password.””
He took his keys from the table.
“I need to speak with our attorney in person.””
As he headed toward the door, I glanced at the trust agreement once more.
My mother's handwriting sat beneath the trustee clause.
If Nia ever asks why, tell her the truth.
I had spent years believing the greatest thing my mother had left me was her memory.
Now I wondered whether she'd left me something else.
A warning.
May you like
And if that was true, Celeste might not simply have stolen my money.
She might have spent six years trying to keep me from discovering why it existed in the first place.
