Chapter 7 - THE LAWYER'S WARNING
Margaret Ellis arrived that evening.
She was in her late sixties, with silver hair and the calm expression of someone who had spent decades watching families lie to themselves.
She hugged me before opening her briefcase.
“I’m sorry about your mother.”
“Thank you.”
“And I’m sorry this reached the point she feared.”
Daniel sat across from her.
“You knew Dad was trying to access the house?”
“I knew he wanted to.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I did.”
Daniel frowned.
Margaret removed copies of certified letters.
One had been mailed to my apartment.
I remembered receiving it.
I had called her afterward.
The second had been mailed to Daniel’s house.
He stared at the address.
“Rachel signed for this.”
Margaret looked at him.
“According to the delivery confirmation, yes.”
Daniel’s face went blank.
“I never saw it.”
Margaret slid the receipt toward him.
Rachel’s signature appeared at the bottom.
The date was eight months earlier.
Daniel leaned back slowly.
“She hid it.”
“It appears so.”
“What did the letter say?”
“That your father had approached me about modifying the trust.”
“Could he?”
“Not without both of you.”
I asked the question that had been bothering me.
“Could he get a loan against the house anyway?”
“Legitimately?”
“No.”
Daniel gave a humorless laugh.
“That’s becoming an important word.”
Margaret opened another folder.
“Your mother’s trust requires written consent from both beneficiaries for any encumbrance.”
“Then what happens if signatures were forged?”
“Then we may be dealing with fraud.”
Carol whispered, “Victor.”
Margaret looked at her.
“Victor Lane?”
We all stared.
“You know him?” Daniel asked.
Margaret’s expression hardened.
“I know of him.”
She explained that Victor had approached her office twice claiming to represent Dad in a potential restructuring.
She refused to provide documents.
“He became aggressive.”
“How aggressive?”
“He threatened to report me to the bar for obstructing a client.”
Daniel almost smiled.
“That must have gone well.”
“It did not impress me.”
Margaret looked toward me.
“Did your father ever ask for your identification documents?”
I remembered something.
“Rachel did.”
Daniel turned sharply.
“When?”
“About four months ago.”
“For what?”
“She said she was booking a family cruise.”
Daniel stared.
“There was no cruise.”
“I know.”
My pulse quickened.
“She asked me to send a photograph of my driver’s license.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
Daniel pushed away from the table.
Margaret remained calm.
“Do you still have the messages?”
I opened my phone.
The conversation was still there.
Rachel had written that the cruise line required identification information.
She had sent three cheerful emojis afterward.
I forwarded everything to Margaret and the investigator.
Daniel looked sick.
“She used Noah’s birthday.”
Nobody answered.
“She invited my sister into a room where she knew Dad was angry about these papers.”
I watched the realization deepen.
“This wasn’t an argument that got out of control.”
Margaret folded her hands.
“That is a question for investigators.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“You said Rachel pushed you without warning.”
“Yes.”
“And then immediately accused you of ruining the cake.”
“Yes.”
“She wanted everyone watching.”
The room grew quiet.
Mom’s warning letter sat between us.
Margaret reached into her briefcase once more.
“There’s one more thing.”
She placed a sealed document on the table.
“Your mother left instructions regarding the fireproof box.”
I leaned forward.
“What instructions?”
“If it disappeared, I was supposed to ask one question.”
“What?”
Margaret looked directly at me.
“Who has the key?”
Nobody needed to answer.
May you like
We all knew.
Rachel.
