Chapter 5: The Message on My Phone
I read the message three times.
The words didn't change.
STOP CALLING EVELYN BROOKS.
YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOUR FATHER DID.
My thumb hovered over the screen.
“Who sent that?”” Darius asked.
“I don't know.””
“Let me see.””
I handed him the phone.
He read the message, then looked toward the street. Nobody stood near the mailbox. No car was parked directly across from our driveway. The neighboring houses looked quiet beneath the bright afternoon sun.
“Could it be someone who knows about the documents?”” he asked.
Nia shook her head.
“Someone who knows about the documents would know Maya has the key.””
My stomach tightened.
“They do know. Evelyn asked about it.””
“Evelyn didn't send that message,” Nia said.
“She was trying to help you.””
“You don't know that for sure,” Vanessa interrupted.
Nia turned toward her.
“Neither do you.””
My mother snatched her purse from the gift table.
“I'm calling the police.””
Darius stared at her.
“For what?””
“For harassment. Trespassing. Whatever this is.””
Nia took one step back.
“I haven't threatened anyone.””
“You've brought forged papers onto my property!””
“Then report them. Let the county verify everything.””
Vanessa's fingers tightened around her purse strap.
For a moment, she looked as though she might actually make the call.
Then her eyes dropped to the documents in my hands.
“No,” she whispered.
I looked at her.
“What now?””
She seemed to remember where she was.
“Nothing. I'm not doing this anymore.””
She turned toward the front door.
I followed her with my eyes.
“Where are you going?””
“Inside.””
“Why?””
“Because I refuse to stand here while you let strangers poison your mind against your mother.””
I wanted to tell her that nobody needed to poison anything. She had done enough damage herself.
Instead, I looked down at the transfer request.
There were two signatures on the final page.
One belonged to Vanessa.
The other was unfamiliar.
It had been written in black ink, beneath the words AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE.
I showed it to Darius.
“Do you recognize this name?””
He leaned closer.
“That's not a name. It's a signature.””
I tilted the paper toward the light.
The handwriting was cramped and difficult to read. The first letter looked like an E, and the surname might have begun with a B.
Nia leaned over my shoulder.
“That's Evelyn's signature.””
My head snapped toward her.
“How can you tell?””
“My mother showed me copies of the original documents. Evelyn signed as the trustee.””
“Then why would she sign a transfer request?””
“Maybe she didn't.””
The answer settled over us.
Darius took the document and examined the signature again.
“Could someone have copied it?””
“Possibly,” Nia said.
“That's why we need the original records.””
Vanessa stopped halfway to the front door.
“You're all making assumptions based on pieces of paper.””
I turned toward her.
“Then help us get the original.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because the original isn't available.””
“How do you know?””
Her lips pressed together.
Darius stepped toward her.
“Vanessa, you just said you had no idea what these documents were. Now you're saying the original isn't available. Which is it?””
She looked at him, and the hurt in her expression was almost convincing.
“You're supposed to trust me.””
“I did.””
The words came quietly.
That seemed to affect her more than shouting would have.
Darius looked down at the key in his hand.
“I trusted you when you told me Maya's father's affairs had been settled. I trusted you when you said there was nothing left to discuss. I trusted you when you told me the past was too painful for Maya to revisit.””
He raised his eyes.
“Was any of that true?””
Vanessa's face crumpled.
“I was trying to keep this family together.””
“By hiding her own property from her?””
“You don't understand what would happen if she found it!””
“Then explain it.””
She looked at me.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“Your father made choices that affected everyone.””
I stepped closer.
“What choices?””
“He trusted the wrong people.””
“Who?””
“He believed that money could solve problems that money had created.””
“Mom, I don't care about the money. I care that you lied to me.””
She closed her eyes.
“You're too young to understand what your father was involved in.””
“Then stop treating me like I'm five!””
My shout surprised even me.
The driveway fell silent.
I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand, angry at the tears that kept coming.
“I was five when he died. You never told me anything. Every time I asked about him, you said I should remember the good things.
You told me he loved me. You told me he wanted me to have a good life.””
“He did.””
“Then why does his name appear on a document filed after his death?””
Vanessa looked away.
I took a shaky breath.
“And why did you try to transfer something that belongs to me?””
For the first time, she didn't answer with anger.
She answered with exhaustion.
“Because I was running out of time.””
Darius went still.
“Time for what?””
Vanessa immediately shook her head.
“I shouldn't have said that.””
“You've said enough to make this worse,” he replied.
“You might as well tell the truth.””
She pressed her lips together.
I watched her hands. They were trembling again.
Then she reached into her purse and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
“I want you to read this before you decide I'm the villain in your story.””
She held it toward me.
I hesitated.
Darius touched my shoulder.
“You don't have to take anything from her if you don't want to.””
“I want to see it.””
I unfolded the paper.
It was a printed notice from a financial institution, dated six weeks earlier. The heading referenced a pending review of a dormant asset account. Beneath the reference number was a deadline.
The deadline had passed yesterday.
At the bottom was a note explaining that a transfer request could not be completed without verification of the beneficiary's identity and presentation of the original access key.
I read the paragraph twice.
Then I looked at my mother.
“You knew the deadline was coming.””
Vanessa nodded slowly.
“I received the notice weeks ago.””
“And you tried to transfer the asset.””
“I tried to prevent it from being frozen.””
“Why?””
“Because there are obligations attached to it.””
“What obligations?””
She looked at the document in my hands.
“I can't explain all of it here.””
“You keep saying that!””
“Because I am trying to protect you!””
“From the truth?””
She flinched.
Nia stepped forward.
“The account wasn't supposed to be transferred to Vanessa. It was supposed to remain in Maya's name until she became old enough to control it.””
My mother turned on her.
“You don't know that!””
“My mother helped prepare the original agreement.””
“And your mother made mistakes!””
Nia's eyes shone with anger.
“She died believing Maya would eventually receive what her father intended for her.””
The words stopped me cold.
“Your mother is dead?””
Nia nodded.
“Last year.””
For a moment, all the anger in her face disappeared.
“My mother spent years trying to resolve this. She wrote letters. She requested records. She asked why the original authorization had never been released to Maya.””
“Did anyone answer her?”” I asked.
“Not honestly.””
Vanessa gripped the folded notice.
“You have no idea what your mother was doing behind closed doors.””
Nia stared at her.
“Then tell Maya what you did.””
My mother took a step toward her.
Darius immediately moved between them.
“Enough. Nobody is touching anybody.””
I looked down at the financial notice again.
The deadline had passed.
The transfer was pending.
The original key was in Darius's hand.
And somewhere, according to Evelyn, there was a person who had been waiting twelve years for me to ask the right questions.
I picked up my phone and opened the message again.
“I'm calling Evelyn back.””
Vanessa's head snapped up.
“No.””
“This time, I'm asking her to explain everything.””
“You cannot trust her.””
“Why?””
“Because she knows what your father did!””
I stared at her.
“What did he do?””
Her mouth trembled.
Then she whispered, “He didn't just leave you an asset, Maya. He left you a responsibility.””
Before I could ask what that meant, Darius's phone rang.
He checked the screen.
His expression changed.
“It's an unknown number.””
He answered and switched on the speaker.
A man's voice came through, calm and precise.
“Mr. Carter, I understand you have possession of a brass key connected to the Carter family trust.””
Darius looked at me.
“Who is this?””
“My name is Raymond Cole. I'm calling on behalf of the institution holding the asset.””
Vanessa gripped the edge of the table.
The man continued.
“We've received confirmation that the beneficiary has located the original key. Before any further action is taken, there's something Maya needs to understand.””
I leaned toward the phone.
“What?””
Raymond paused.
Then he said, “The asset cannot legally be transferred until we establish whether your father left any outstanding claims against it.””
My stomach tightened.
“What claims?””
The man lowered his voice.
“That's precisely why I'm calling. Someone has submitted a claim in your father's name.””
Darius frowned.
“But Marcus Carter has been dead for twelve years.””
“I am aware of that, sir.””
Raymond paused again.
“Which is why the claim has raised serious concerns.””
I looked at Vanessa.
She had gone completely white.
May you like
And when Raymond spoke again, his next words made her grip the table so hard that one of the glasses toppled over.
“The claim was submitted by someone who says they have legal authority to act on behalf of Marcus Carter's estate.””
