Chapter 5: What Daniel Kept in Storage
Daniel's workshop stood at the edge of an industrial park, behind a row of auto-repair shops and a warehouse that had been abandoned for years.
Dad drove with both hands gripping the steering wheel.
Ethan sat beside me in the back seat, clutching his backpack. Every few minutes, he asked how much longer we had to go.
Neither of us mentioned the black box we'd seen in Daniel's car.
When we reached the workshop, the metal shutters were half closed. A single fluorescent light flickered above the side entrance.
Dad parked and got out.
“Stay behind me,” he told us.
The side door opened before he could knock.
Daniel stood there with a swollen lip and a dark bruise spreading across his cheekbone.
My father stopped dead.
“Who did this to you?””
Daniel glanced over his shoulder.
“Not here.””
He stepped aside.
Dad ushered Ethan and me inside, then locked the door behind us.
The workshop smelled of motor oil, damp concrete, and old cardboard. Tools hung neatly on the walls, but the workbenches were covered with papers and half-open boxes.
Daniel had always been meticulous.
This place looked as though someone had searched it in a hurry.
“Where's Nicole?”” Dad demanded.
“Gone.””
“Gone where?””
“I don't know. She left before I could stop her.””
Dad grabbed Daniel's shirt.
“You're going to tell me everything you know about my wife.””
Daniel didn't resist.
“I will.””
“Start with why you were talking about medicine.””
Daniel's eyes moved to me.
Then to Ethan.
“Can we talk somewhere private?””
“No,” I said.
Both men turned toward me.
“You mentioned my mother. You mentioned an inheritance. You talked about sending me away so you and Nicole could deal with papers she'd left behind.”” I stepped closer.
“I'm done being the person everyone talks about when they think I'm not listening.””
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“You have every right to be angry.””
“Then stop wasting time.””
He nodded slowly.
“There's a storage room at the back. Everything I kept from Isabelle's estate is in there.””
Dad released his shirt.
“You told me there was nothing left from her estate.””
“I lied.””
The words came out so simply that my father looked as though he'd been struck.
Daniel led us through a narrow corridor and unlocked a heavy steel door.
Inside were shelves filled with plastic containers, old files, and cardboard boxes marked with dates. A dusty desk stood against the far wall.
On top of it lay the black box I'd seen in his car.
My hands trembled.
“That's Mom's.””
Daniel nodded.
“She kept it in her bedroom.””
Dad approached the desk but didn't touch the box.
“Why do you have it?””
“Because Isabelle gave it to me two weeks before she died.””
I stared at him.
“Why would she give you something that belonged to her?””
“Because she trusted me.””
My father laughed bitterly.
“You've spent eight years lying to me, and now you want me to believe she trusted you?””
Daniel's face tightened.
“She trusted the brother you knew before I became the man standing in front of you.””
“Then tell me what changed.””
Daniel took a long breath.
“Isabelle discovered that someone had been withdrawing money from the account she'd established for Maya.””
My heart began pounding.
“What account?””
“Your mother created a trust shortly after you were born. It was meant to cover your education, your housing, and your living expenses until you turned twenty-one.””
I looked at Dad.
He shook his head.
“I never knew about that.””
“I know,” Daniel said.
“Isabelle suspected someone close to the family was accessing the account without permission. She asked me to help her investigate.””
Dad's voice dropped.
“Who was taking the money?””
Daniel looked at the floor.
“Nicole.””
The word hung in the air.
I felt a strange numbness spread through me.
Nicole had spent years telling me I was a financial burden. She'd complained about my school expenses, my clothes, and the cost of driving me to college interviews.
Meanwhile, she'd allegedly been stealing the money my mother had saved for me.
“How much?”” Dad asked.
“About three hundred thousand dollars over several years.””
My father staggered backward and caught the edge of a shelf.
“That money belonged to Maya.””
“Yes.””
“And you knew?””
“I discovered it after Isabelle died.””
“After?””
Daniel swallowed.
“I didn't know about the withdrawals until I found the account records. By then, Nicole had already transferred most of the money through several businesses. I confronted her. She said she'd return it.””
Dad stared at him.
“And you believed her?””
“No.””
“Then why didn't you tell me?””
Daniel looked up, and for the first time, I saw something besides guilt in his expression.
“Because she told me what would happen if I did.””
“What could she possibly threaten you with?””
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“She had evidence that I'd helped her move the money. At first, I thought we were tracing the withdrawals. I signed documents I shouldn't have signed. I let her use my company accounts because she said she needed somewhere temporary to hold the funds.””
He rubbed his bruised cheek.
“When I realized what she'd done, she told me she'd report me as the person who stole everything. And she had enough paperwork to make that story believable.””
Dad stepped closer.
“So you protected yourself by letting my daughter believe her mother had left her nothing?””
Daniel flinched.
“Yes.””
My father looked ready to hit him.
I spoke first.
“What happened the night Mom died?””
Daniel's face crumpled.
He reached for the black box, opened it, and removed a small velvet pouch.
Inside was a brass key.
My breath caught.
“The key Nicole was looking for?””
Daniel nodded.
“Your mother hid it before she went to the hospital.””
“What's it open?””
“A safety-deposit box at the bank.””
Dad stared at him.
“What's inside?””
“The original trust documents. Bank statements. And a letter Isabelle wrote to Richard.””
My father reached for the key, but Daniel pulled his hand back.
“There's something else you need to know before you open it.””
Dad's eyes narrowed.
“What?””
Daniel looked directly at me.
“Isabelle wasn't supposed to be alone the night she died. Nicole insisted on taking her medication to the hospital. I found out later that the bottle she brought wasn't the one Isabelle had been prescribed.””
The room fell silent.
Ethan moved closer to me.
Dad's voice became barely audible.
“Are you saying Nicole poisoned my wife?””
Daniel shook his head.
“I'm saying I don't know. I never saw what was in the bottle. But Isabelle called me that evening, and she was terrified.””
“Why didn't you tell the police?””
“Because the next morning, Nicole told me Isabelle had changed her will. She said if I made accusations, she'd tell Richard I'd been stealing from the trust.””
My father closed his eyes.
Daniel placed the key on the desk.
“I should have gone to the police anyway. I should have told you everything. I didn't, and I'll spend the rest of my life regretting it.””
I stared at the tiny brass key.
Eight years of unanswered questions had suddenly become a door I could almost touch.
“Take us to the bank,” I said.
Daniel nodded.
But before we could move, Dad's phone rang.
It was our family lawyer.
Dad answered on speaker.
“Richard Carter?”” the lawyer asked.
“I need you to come to my office immediately. Someone just submitted a request to terminate Isabelle's trust.””
Dad looked at the key.
“Who submitted it?””
The lawyer hesitated.
May you like
“Your wife.””
Then he added, “And she's claiming that Maya isn't legally entitled to a single dollar.””
