Chapter 3: What My Mother Left Behind
Dad answered the phone immediately.
"Lauren?""
There was a long pause.
Then he put the call on speaker.
"Daniel, please don't hang up," Lauren said.
Vanessa's daughter sounded breathless, almost as if she'd been running.
"Where are you?"" Dad asked.
"At home.""
"Your mother said you were asleep.""
Lauren gave a bitter laugh.
"Mom says a lot of things.""
I moved closer to the phone.
"Lauren, it's Maya.""
"I know.""
"What's going on?""
She hesitated.
"Did you find the safe?""
Dad looked at me.
"Yes.""
"Did you open it?""
"I did.""
"Then you need to look at the blue envelope.""
Dad turned toward the desk.
There were several folders spread across it. He began searching through them.
"Which blue envelope?""
"The one with your first wife's name on it.""
My stomach tightened.
Mom's name.
Evelyn.
Dad pulled open the bottom drawer.
Inside were several old documents, a stack of bank statements, and a blue envelope sealed with yellowed tape.
He stared at it.
"I see it.""
Lauren exhaled.
"Don't let Mom take it.""
"Lauren, what has your mother been doing?""
Silence.
Then she spoke.
"She's been telling everyone that the house belongs to her.""
Dad's jaw tightened.
"She knows it doesn't.""
"She also told people you were planning to give it to me.""
I looked at the folder on the desk.
"Did you know about the transfer papers?"" I asked.
"Yes.""
"Did you agree to it?""
"No.""
Her answer was immediate.
"Then why is your name on the document?""
"Because Mom told me it was just a refinancing agreement. She said I needed to sign something to help her get a better interest rate.""
Dad closed his eyes.
"Did you sign it?""
"Yes.""
I felt sick.
"Lauren, do you understand what those papers say?""
"I didn't know until last week.""
Dad gripped the edge of his desk.
"What happened last week?""
Lauren took a shaky breath.
"I found another envelope in Mom's bedroom. It had copies of the documents and a letter from a lawyer. That's when I realized she wasn't trying to refinance the house.""
"Then what was she trying to do?""
"Transfer it.""
Dad looked at the property agreement.
"To you?""
"Yes.""
"Why?""
Lauren was quiet for several seconds.
Then she said something that changed the entire conversation.
"Because she promised someone the money.""
Dad frowned.
"What money?""
"The money from selling the house.""
I stared at him.
He looked as confused as I felt.
"Who did she promise it to?""
Lauren lowered her voice.
"I don't know his full name. I only saw it on one of the letters.""
"Then tell me what you saw.""
"His name was Marcus.""
Dad sat down.
"Marcus who?""
"I don't know. But Mom had been meeting him at the house while you were away.""
My father looked toward the hallway.
"While I was away?""
Lauren quickly corrected herself.
"Not away from the house. I mean when you were traveling for work. She told me he was a financial adviser.""
Dad's expression hardened.
"Did he come here?""
"Several times.""
"Was he involved in the property transfer?""
"I think so.""
Dad looked at me.
I could tell he was trying to put the pieces together.
A transfer document with his forged signature.
A secretive man named Marcus.
A warning about money.
And a blue envelope bearing my mother's name.
"Lauren," I said carefully, "why didn't you tell us sooner?""
Her voice cracked.
"Because I thought Mom was doing something illegal, and I was afraid she'd blame me. She has all my financial information. She knows about my debts. She told me if I went against her, she'd make sure I lost everything.""
Dad's expression softened slightly.
"You're my family, Lauren. You should have come to me.""
"I know.""
"Why didn't you?""
"Because she told me you wouldn't believe me.""
Dad looked down.
For the first time, he seemed to realize how carefully Vanessa had built a wall between everyone in the house.
He picked up the blue envelope.
"Evelyn," he whispered.
I stepped closer.
"Open it.""
The tape cracked as he carefully pulled it apart.
Inside was a folded letter in my mother's handwriting.
I recognized it immediately.
The capital E.
The way she crossed her sevens.
The little heart she sometimes drew beside my name.
Dad's eyes filled with tears.
He sat down and unfolded the letter.
"Daniel," he began reading aloud, "if you're holding this, then something has happened that I was afraid to tell you about.""
I covered my mouth.
The letter continued.
I know you trust people easily, especially when they make you feel needed. I also know you don't like discussing money.
Dad stopped.
He looked at me.
"Your mother wrote this before she died.""
I nodded.
He continued.
But I need you to know that the money from the sale of my mother's property was never meant to become part of our household savings. I placed it in a separate trust for Maya.
I stared at him.
"What?""
Dad lowered the letter.
"I didn't know about this.""
I moved closer.
"Keep reading.""
His hands trembled as he continued.
The house we live in is partly protected by that trust. I wanted Maya to have something secure, something nobody could take away from her if life became difficult.
I felt the room tilt.
Mom had left something for me.
Something significant enough that Vanessa might have been trying to steal it.
Dad reached into the envelope again.
This time, he pulled out a folded bank statement and a legal document.
The bank statement showed an account balance from several years earlier.
I couldn't understand the numbers at first.
Then I saw the withdrawals.
One.
Then another.
Then another.
The account had been losing money steadily for almost three years.
Dad looked at the dates.
"These withdrawals began after I married Vanessa.""
I stared at the page.
"How much was taken?""
He didn't answer.
He turned to the final statement.
The remaining balance was less than five hundred dollars.
I felt a cold sensation move through my chest.
"That can't be right.""
Dad shook his head.
"There should have been much more.""
The door suddenly opened.
Vanessa stood in the doorway.
Her eyes went directly to the letter in Dad's hands.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she smiled.
It was a small, controlled smile.
"Well," she said, "I wondered how long it would take you to find that.""
Dad stood.
"Did you take the money?""
Vanessa looked at the documents.
Then at me.
"Your mother should have told you to stop digging into things that don't concern you.""
I felt my entire body go still.
"That money was left to me.""
Vanessa shrugged.
"Your mother left a lot of things behind.""
Dad stepped toward her.
"Answer the question.""
She placed her handbag on the desk.
"You're making accusations without understanding the circumstances.""
"Nearly all the money is gone.""
"Money moves, Daniel.""
"Into whose account?""
Vanessa's smile disappeared.
She reached for the bank statement.
Dad pulled it away.
"Don't touch it.""
For a moment, the room was silent.
Then Vanessa looked directly at me.
"You really should have stayed away.""
Dad moved between us.
"Get out of this room.""
Vanessa didn't move.
Instead, she took a folded piece of paper from her handbag and placed it on the desk.
"Since we're finally discussing your daughter's inheritance, perhaps you should know what Evelyn actually signed.""
Dad looked down.
It was a photocopy of a legal document.
At the bottom was my mother's signature.
But there was something else.
A paragraph stating that the trust could be terminated under certain conditions.
Dad read it twice.
Then he looked at Vanessa.
"Where did you get this?""
She smiled again.
"From the lawyer who handled the estate.""
I leaned forward.
The document contained a date from two months before my mother died.
And beneath the termination clause was a name.
Not Vanessa's.
Not Lauren's.
*Marcus Hale.*
I recognized it from Lauren's message.
Dad stared at the page.
"Who is Marcus Hale?""
Vanessa slowly picked up her handbag.
Then she said the words that made the room go completely silent.
"He's the man your first wife trusted more than you.""
She walked toward the door.
"But if you want to know what really happened to Evelyn's money, you should ask him why he was the last person to see her alive.""
And then she left.
My father stood frozen, holding the document.
I couldn't speak.
Because for eight years, I had believed my mother died after a sudden medical emergency.
But now there was a name neither of us recognized.
A man who had access to her money.
A man who had been visiting our home.
And according to Vanessa, a man who might know something about the final hours of my mother's life.
Dad slowly reached for his phone.
"Richard," he said when his attorney answered.
"I need you to find someone.""
He looked down at the document.
"His name is Marcus Hale.""
A pause.
May you like
Then Dad's face went completely pale.
"What do you mean he's already dead?""
