Chapter 6: What Grandma Left Behind
I didn't sleep that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the surface of the pool disappearing above me. Then I saw the old photograph of Madison and me on the dock. Finally, I saw my father's face when Uncle Daniel mentioned Grandma's will.
By sunrise, I had made a decision.
I was going to find out what my grandmother had left me.
At nine o'clock the next morning, I drove to my parents' house. My hair was still damp from a shower, and I had barely touched the coffee I bought on the way.
Dad opened the front door before I could knock.
"You didn't have to come back so early.""
"I know.""
He stepped aside.
"Your mother is in the kitchen.""
"I'm looking for Grandma's papers.""
His expression tightened.
"Olivia, this isn't something we should rush into.""
"Fourteen years seems like enough time.""
He looked down at the floor.
I walked past him.
Mom was sitting at the kitchen island, surrounded by old photographs and a stack of documents. She had changed out of her party clothes, but the shadows beneath her eyes suggested she hadn't slept either.
"I thought we could go through everything together," she said.
"Where did you keep the red box?""
Mom glanced at Dad.
He remained in the doorway.
"Your grandmother's belongings were divided after she died," he said.
"Some went to Daniel. Some stayed here.""
"What about the box?""
"I don't remember.""
I stared at him.
"You don't remember a wooden box that disappeared from my bedroom three days before Grandma's funeral?""
Dad rubbed his jaw.
"It was a long time ago.""
"Then perhaps the paperwork will help you remember.""
I pulled out a chair and sat down.
Mom slid a folder toward me.
"These are copies of the documents we have.""
I opened it.
There were bank statements, insurance papers, and a photocopy of a will dated several years before Grandma died. The document named my father as executor and left most of her estate to him, with smaller gifts designated for various family members.
My name appeared near the bottom.
A modest cash inheritance.
Nothing more.
I frowned.
"This doesn't make sense.""
"What doesn't?"" Mom asked.
"Grandma told me she wanted me to have something important. She said it was meant to give me a choice when I grew up.""
Dad pulled out the chair opposite me.
"Your grandmother sometimes said things without explaining what she meant.""
"No. She was very specific.""
I remembered sitting beside her hospital bed. Her hands had been thin and fragile, but her eyes were sharp.
Never let anyone convince you that being kind means giving up what is yours, she'd told me.
At the time, I thought she was talking about Madison borrowing my clothes.
Now I wondered whether she'd been warning me about something much bigger.
I turned to the final page of the photocopied will.
There was a signature, a date, and a stamp from the attorney who had prepared it.
But there was no reference to the small wooden box.
"Who was Grandma's lawyer?"" I asked.
Dad stood too quickly.
"There's no need to involve lawyers.""
I looked at him.
"Why not?""
"Because this is a family matter.""
I almost laughed.
"That's what you said yesterday.""
Mom lowered her head.
Dad walked toward the sink and filled a glass of water he didn't drink.
"Your grandmother's estate was settled years ago. Everything was handled legally.""
"Then you won't mind if I verify that.""
He set the glass down.
"Olivia, you're upset. You're looking for reasons to blame people.""
I stared at him.
"I'm looking for the truth.""
Before he could answer, the doorbell rang.
Mom looked toward the hallway.
"Who could that be?""
Dad's face changed.
"I'll get it.""
He hurried out of the kitchen.
A moment later, I heard a familiar voice.
"Good morning, Robert.""
Uncle Daniel.
I stood so quickly that my chair scraped against the floor.
He appeared in the kitchen doorway carrying a worn leather briefcase. His hair was almost entirely gray now, and there were deep lines around his eyes, but his crooked smile was exactly as I remembered.
For a moment, I was twelve again, sitting on Grandma's porch with a peppermint in my hand.
Then he opened his arms.
I crossed the room and hugged him.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
I pressed my face against his shoulder.
"For what?""
"For leaving you here without someone who would tell you the truth.""
I stepped back.
"You didn't make me stay.""
"No. But I knew what was happening, and I couldn't protect you from it.""
Dad cleared his throat.
"Daniel, this is hardly the time.""
Daniel looked at him.
"Actually, Robert, I think it's long overdue.""
He placed the briefcase on the kitchen island and opened it.
Inside were several old documents, a bundle of letters tied with string, and a photograph of Grandma sitting at her dining table with the little red box beside her.
My breath caught.
"Where did you get that?""
"Your grandmother gave it to me to keep safe," Daniel replied.
"A few weeks before she died.""
Dad gripped the back of a chair.
"That isn't possible.""
Daniel removed a folded sheet of paper.
"She was worried about what would happen after she was gone. She told me she suspected someone was already looking through her financial records.""
"Who?"" I asked.
Daniel looked at Dad.
"She never gave me a name.""
Dad shook his head.
"This is absurd. Mother was ill. She was confused.""
"She was sharp enough to notice that several documents had gone missing," Daniel replied.
"And she was sharp enough to ask an attorney to prepare a new will.""
He slid the document toward me.
The paper was yellowed at the edges, but the signatures were clear.
I read the first paragraph.
Then I read it again.
The new will had been signed and witnessed two months before Grandma's death. It named an independent attorney as executor and established a trust for me, to be released when I turned twenty-five.
The trust included a house, an investment account, and a substantial portion of Grandma's business holdings.
I looked up.
"How much?""
Daniel hesitated.
"At the time, the assets were worth a little over two million dollars. With the investments and property, the value would be considerably higher now.""
My mouth went dry.
"Why didn't I know about this?""
Daniel turned another page.
"Because the original documents disappeared before the estate was settled. Your father submitted the earlier will instead.""
Dad slammed his palm against the counter.
"That's a lie!""
Daniel didn't flinch.
"Then explain why you never contacted the attorney named in this document.""
Dad's mouth opened.
He looked at me.
Then at Mom.
And finally, at the will.
I watched something collapse behind his eyes.
Mom covered her mouth.
"Robert," she whispered.
"Tell me this isn't true.""
He said nothing.
I felt suddenly cold.
"You took my inheritance?""
Dad stepped toward me.
"Olivia, listen to me. I was trying to protect the family business. Your grandmother's estate was complicated, and the company was struggling. I believed the money needed to remain under one roof until things stabilized.""
"Did you tell me about the trust?""
"No.""
"Did you tell me Grandma had left me a house?""
He swallowed.
"No.""
"Did you tell me you were using assets that belonged to me?""
His eyes filled with tears.
"I intended to repay everything.""
I stepped back.
"When?""
He had no answer.
Daniel closed the briefcase halfway.
"There is more.""
Dad turned sharply.
"Daniel, don't.""
Daniel ignored him.
"The red box contained a letter from your grandmother explaining why she changed her will. She wanted Olivia to have financial independence because she was worried about what would happen if the family continued treating Madison's behavior as harmless.""
I stared at him.
"Grandma knew?""
"She saw more than anyone realized.""
Daniel removed a final document from the briefcase.
"She also left instructions that the trust should be reviewed if anyone attempted to conceal or alter the will.""
Dad gripped the counter so tightly his knuckles turned white.
I looked at the signature at the bottom of the document.
My grandmother's name.
Then I noticed the date.
It was the same week I had been pushed into the lake.
"Why would Madison push me because of this?"" I whispered.
Daniel's expression darkened.
"Because she had found the red box before you did. And because she believed the inheritance was supposed to be hers.""
I turned toward my father.
He wouldn't meet my eyes.
Then Daniel pulled one last sheet of paper from the briefcase.
It was a letter written in Grandma's unmistakable handwriting.
The first line read:
If Olivia ever learns what happened to the red box, she must also learn what her father promised Madison in exchange for her silence.
I looked at Dad.
"What did you promise her?""
He finally raised his head.
And the answer he gave me was so terrible that, for a moment, I wished I had never asked.
"I promised Madison that when the trust was released, she would receive half of it.""
Mom gasped.
I stared at him.
"You promised her half of my inheritance?""
Dad's voice broke.
"I thought it was the only way to keep her from telling anyone what she'd done.""
Daniel slowly closed the briefcase.
"Then you need to understand something, Robert.""
He placed his hand on the letter.
"Madison has already told someone.""
My phone began vibrating on the counter.
A message from Ethan appeared on the screen.
Olivia, don't panic, but Madison just called off all contact with our wedding vendors—and she's telling everyone you stole money from her.
A second message arrived immediately afterward.
She's claiming you used the pool incident to blackmail your family into giving you Grandma's inheritance.
I stared at the screen.
My sister hadn't just tried to escape responsibility.
May you like
She was preparing to make me pay for exposing her.
And this time, she wasn't going to stop at our family.
