Chapter 6: The Missing Two Pages
“Who removed them?””
Nathan asked the question before I could find my voice.
Dr. Helen Foster paused.
“I can't establish that from the records alone. But the removal was documented in an internal hospital note.””
“Can you send us a copy?””
“Only through the proper legal process.””
I stepped closer to the phone.
“Doctor, I'm his daughter. I've spent twenty years believing he died of a heart attack.””
Her voice softened.
“I understand, Emily. I'm sorry. But you need to know that the original attending physician recorded signs of possible poisoning.””
The room went silent.
My mother made a sound somewhere between a gasp and a sob.
Chloe dropped her handbag.
I grabbed Nathan's sleeve.
“Poisoning?””
“That's what the original notes suggest,” Dr. Foster replied.
“I cannot tell you more until the records are formally reviewed.””
“Was it confirmed?””
“No. The final report listed cardiac arrest as the cause of death. However, the original physician requested toxicology testing.””
“Was the test performed?””
Another pause.
“The results are missing from the file.””
The call ended a few seconds later.
I stared at the phone.
My father hadn't simply collapsed.
Someone had suspected poisoning.
And someone had made sure the evidence disappeared.
Mom slowly sat down.
“Emily, please don't do anything reckless.””
I turned toward her.
“Reckless? Dad might have been murdered!””
“You don't know that.””
“Then why are you so afraid of finding out?””
She looked away.
That was when Olivia spoke.
“Eleanor suspected something similar.””
I turned toward her.
“Grandma knew?””
Olivia nodded.
“She spent years trying to obtain your father's original medical records. She hired an independent investigator shortly before her death.””
“Why didn't she tell me?””
“She wanted to be certain before involving you. She also feared that Daniel was monitoring the family.””
Nathan frowned.
“Did she find anything?””
Olivia opened her leather folder.
“She left me instructions to release a second document if Daniel appeared at the estate.””
She removed a small flash drive.
My name was written on it.
“What is this?””
“A recording.””
I looked at the tiny device.
“Of what?””
“Your grandmother's final meeting with her attorney.””
Nathan took a breath.
“Can we play it?””
Olivia nodded.
Sarah found a laptop in the adjoining office and brought it into the dressing room.
She connected the drive.
A video appeared.
My grandmother sat in her favorite chair, wearing a blue cardigan and the pearl earrings I'd given her for her seventieth birthday.
For a moment, I couldn't breathe.
“Hello, sweetheart,” Grandma said.
Tears filled my eyes immediately.
“If you're watching this, something has happened that I hoped I could prevent.””
She adjusted the blanket over her knees.
“I need you to understand that the Bennett estate was never the reason I protected you. It was your father's final wish that you and Chloe would always have a safe place to return to.””
I looked at my sister.
She was staring at the screen.
Grandma continued.
“Unfortunately, someone has spent years trying to turn my granddaughters against each other. And I fear one of them has already been drawn into a dangerous arrangement.””
Chloe whispered, “No…”
Grandma leaned closer to the camera.
“Emily, your father discovered that Daniel had been using a company account to transfer money from the estate. But Daniel was not acting alone.””
My mother began trembling.
“He had an accomplice inside our family. Someone who had access to the original property documents and the household financial records.””
I turned toward Mom.
She wouldn't meet my eyes.
Grandma continued.
“I never learned whether that person knew what Daniel intended to do that night. But I discovered something afterward that made me question everything.””
She held up a photograph.
It showed my father standing outside the estate.
Beside him was my mother.
And in the background stood a young woman wearing a red coat.
Chloe leaned toward the screen.
“That's not me.””
Olivia zoomed in.
The young woman was indeed Chloe.
But the date printed on the photograph was impossible.
It had been taken six months after my father's death.
I stared at my sister.
“Why were you at the estate six months after Dad died?””
Chloe shook her head.
“I don't remember.””
“Look at the photograph!””
“I said I don't remember!””
Grandma's voice continued.
“Emily, there is one final thing. The original deed to the estate is not in the courthouse, and it is not in my attorney's office. Your father hid it somewhere only his daughters would know.””
Nathan looked at me.
“Somewhere only his daughters?””
I remembered the old house.
The enormous oak tree in the backyard.
The wooden swing Dad had built for Chloe and me.
The small hiding place beneath the staircase where we'd kept our childhood treasures.
But before I could speak, Grandma delivered the final sentence.
“If Daniel has returned, do not trust the person who claims to have protected you. The truth about the night your father died is hidden in the original deed.””
The recording ended.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Chloe started backing toward the door.
Nathan noticed immediately.
“Where are you going?””
“I need to leave.””
“Why?””
“Because this is insane!””
I stepped toward her.
“You were at the estate six months after Dad died. You received half a million dollars from Daniel. You destroyed my wedding dress, and you knew about the inheritance documents.””
She shook her head.
“I didn't know about the medical records.””
“But you knew something.””
Her eyes filled.
Then she whispered:
“Emily, I didn't know Dad was still alive when Mom got that phone call.””
My heart stopped.
I turned toward our mother.
Mom's face had become completely white.
“What did you just say?””
Chloe covered her mouth.
“Nothing.””
“Chloe, repeat that.””
She started crying.
“Daniel told me Dad was already dead. He said Mom was helping him handle everything.””
I looked at Mom.
“Helping him handle what?””
Mom slowly stood.
“I can explain.””
“Then explain.””
She glanced at Olivia, Sarah, and Nathan.
“Not here.””
I stepped closer.
“No more secrets.””
Mom's hands shook as she reached into her purse.
She pulled out an old brass key.
“I kept this for twenty years.””
I stared at it.
“What's it for?””
“The locked cabinet in your grandmother's old study.””
“What's inside?””
Mom looked at me with tears streaming down her face.
“Your father's original deed.””
I reached for the key.
But she held on.
“Emily, there's a reason I never let you go into that study after your father died.””
“What reason?””
Mom finally released the key.
“Because the deed doesn't just prove who owns the estate.””
She swallowed.
“It also proves that your father changed his will the night he died.””
Nathan frowned.
“Changed it in whose favor?””
Mom looked directly at me.
“Not yours. Not Chloe's.””
May you like
Then she whispered the name of the person who had inherited everything if your father died.
*And it was someone standing in that room.*
