Chapter 7: The Real Will
Jason held the phone away from his ear.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The voice on the other end repeated his name.
“Jason? Are you still there?””
His face had lost all color.
I had never seen him look so confused.
Not angry.
Not suspicious.
Just completely lost.
“Who is this?”” he finally asked.
There was a long pause.
Then the voice answered.
“Someone who knew your father better than you think.””
Diane immediately stood up.
“Hang up.””
Jason looked at her.
“No.””
His voice was quiet.
But there was something different in it.
A decision.
The old Jason would have listened to his mother.
The old Jason would have tried to keep the peace.
This Jason was finally asking questions.
“Tell me your name.””
The person on the phone hesitated.
“My name is Robert Miller.””
Diane’s expression changed.
I noticed it immediately.
She knew that name.
Jason noticed too.
“You know him?””
Diane looked away.
“No.””
The answer came too fast.
Jason tightened his grip on the phone.
“You just said no without even thinking.””
Diane stepped forward.
“Jason, this man is trying to manipulate you.””
Robert’s voice came through the speaker.
“She’s right about one thing.””
Jason froze.
“What?””
“You shouldn’t trust everything you’re about to hear.””
The warning made the room even heavier.
I looked at Jason.
“Put it on speaker.””
He did.
Robert continued.
“Your father changed his will six months before he died.””
Jason stared ahead.
“My father had a will.””
“Yes.””
“I already know what he left me.””
“No, you know what your mother showed you.””
Silence.
Diane’s face became tense.
Jason slowly turned toward her.
“What does that mean?””
Robert sighed.
“Your father discovered money was missing from his company accounts.””
My stomach tightened.
Jason looked confused.
“My father owned a small business. He wasn’t rich.””
“He wasn’t rich because someone was taking from him.””
Diane slammed her hand onto the table.
“Enough.””
Everyone looked at her.
For the first time, she wasn’t pretending.
She was scared.
Jason stepped closer.
“Mom?””
Diane looked at him.
“Your father was sick. He wasn’t thinking clearly.””
Robert interrupted.
“That’s exactly what she told everyone.””
Jason went silent.
I watched him struggle with the reality in front of him.
His entire childhood.
His memories.
His trust.
Everything was being questioned.
“Where is the real will?”” he asked.
Robert answered immediately.
“Safe deposit box.””
“Where?””
“At the bank where your father kept his personal records.””
Jason looked at Diane.
“You knew.””
She didn’t answer.
That was enough.
Jason’s voice cracked.
“You knew there was another will.””
Diane’s eyes narrowed.
“I was protecting you.””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“You were protecting yourself.””
The sentence hit her harder than anything else.
Diane looked at me.
“You did this.””
I stared.
“What?””
“You poisoned him against me.””
I almost couldn’t believe it.
Even now.
Even after everything.
She still couldn’t accept responsibility.
Jason stepped between us.
“Don’t.””
Diane looked at him.
“You choose her over your own mother?””
Jason’s face tightened.
“No.””
He looked at Lily’s photo on the wall.
“I choose my daughter.””
The room went quiet.
Diane looked away.
For the first time, she had no response.
Two days later, we went to the bank.
Robert met us there.
He was an older man with silver hair and tired eyes.
When he saw Jason, he immediately looked emotional.
“You look just like him.””
Jason stared.
“You knew my father?””
Robert nodded.
“I was his attorney.””
Jason’s expression changed.
“Then why did you wait ten years?””
Robert looked down.
“Because your mother convinced everyone the documents were destroyed.””
My hands tightened around Lily’s small backpack.
Jason looked at the vault manager.
“Open it.””
The box was brought out.
Everyone stood silently as Jason inserted the key.
The lock clicked.
Inside was a stack of papers.
A photograph.
And a handwritten letter.
Jason picked up the letter first.
The moment he saw his father’s handwriting, his eyes filled.
He opened it.
And after reading the first few lines, he whispered:
“My father knew.””
Robert looked at him.
“Knew what?””
Jason slowly lifted his eyes.
“He knew someone was stealing from him.””
Then he turned the page.
And his face changed.
Because written at the bottom of the letter was one sentence.
May you like
A sentence that made my heart stop.
*If you are reading this, ask Sarah about the night she disappeared.*
