Chapter 6: The Letter My Mother Left Behind
Dad didn't say another word.
He grabbed his coat and looked at me.
"I'm going home.""
I sat up.
"I'm coming with you.""
"No, sweetheart. You're staying here until the doctor clears you.""
"But what if Vanessa destroys Mom's letter?""
He hesitated.
Then he called his mother.
Grandma Margaret answered immediately.
"Michael?""
"Mom, I need you to go to the house.""
"What's happened?""
"Vanessa is destroying documents. Brittany says there's a letter from Laura.""
There was a long silence.
Then Grandma spoke.
"Which letter?""
"I don't know.""
Her voice became urgent.
"Michael, listen to me. If it's the envelope Laura gave me before she died, you need to stop Vanessa from touching it.""
Dad gripped the phone.
"What envelope?""
"The one she told me to keep safe for Emily.""
I looked up.
My mother had left Grandma something?
Dad asked, "Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because Laura made me promise not to reveal it unless Emily was in danger.""
He stared at the floor.
"Mom, what was in it?""
"I don't know everything. Laura sealed it herself. But she told me it contained proof of something she discovered about Vanessa.""
My heart started pounding.
"Grandma," I said loudly enough for her to hear, "what did Mom discover?""
Her voice softened.
"Oh, sweetheart. I wish I could tell you more.""
Dad turned toward the door.
"I'm going home.""
The doctor approached him.
"Sir, your daughter needs observation.""
Dad stopped.
I looked at him.
"Go. I'll be okay.""
He knelt beside the bed.
"Your grandmother is on her way. I won't be long.""
He kissed my forehead.
Then he left.
I watched the hallway until he disappeared.
For the next twenty minutes, I couldn't stop thinking about my mother's letter.
What could she have discovered?
Why had she trusted Grandma with it?
And why was Vanessa so desperate to destroy it?
My phone was still in Vanessa's possession, so I had nothing to distract me.
I stared at the ceiling until a nurse came in to adjust my IV.
"Your grandmother is here," she said.
A moment later, Grandma Margaret rushed into the room.
She was wearing her old brown cardigan, the one she'd worn every Christmas since I was little.
When she saw me, she covered her mouth.
"Oh, my baby.""
She hurried over and hugged me carefully.
"Look at you.""
I tried to smile.
"I'm okay, Grandma.""
She pulled back and examined my face.
"Your father told me what happened.""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I should have come sooner.""
"Vanessa told you I was somewhere else.""
"I know, sweetheart. But I should have checked.""
She sat beside me.
For several moments, neither of us spoke.
Then she reached into her handbag and removed a small photograph.
It showed my mother sitting in the garden, holding me when I was about five years old.
"Your mother gave me this the week before she died.""
I touched the photograph.
"She looks happy.""
"She was.""
Grandma's voice trembled.
"But she was also frightened.""
I looked at her.
"Of Vanessa?""
Grandma nodded slowly.
"Laura noticed that certain financial papers were missing from her study. At first, she thought she'd misplaced them. Then she discovered that someone had been accessing accounts connected to her estate.""
I frowned.
"But Vanessa wasn't married to Dad yet.""
"No. She was helping around the house. She had access to some of the household documents.""
I stared at the photograph.
"Why didn't Mom tell Dad?""
"She tried. But your father was working constantly, and Vanessa always seemed to be nearby whenever Laura wanted to speak privately.""
I swallowed.
"What did Mom leave in the letter?""
Grandma opened her handbag again.
This time, she removed a small brass key.
I recognized it immediately.
It was identical to the key Dad had found in Vanessa's purse.
"What's that for?""
"Your mother's old writing desk.""
I remembered it.
The desk had disappeared from the house shortly after Vanessa moved in.
"Where is it?""
"Your father kept it in the storage room at his office. Laura asked him to move it there before she died.""
I stared at Grandma.
"Does Dad know?""
"He knows about the desk. He doesn't know what is hidden inside.""
She placed the key in my hand.
"Your mother told me that one day, when you were old enough, you'd understand why she kept it.""
I looked down at the little brass key.
Then my grandmother took a deep breath.
"Emily, there's something else.""
"What?""
"Your mother didn't leave you only money.""
I looked up.
"Then what did she leave me?""
Grandma leaned closer.
"She left you control of something Vanessa has been trying to get for years.""
Before I could ask another question, Dad returned.
His face was pale.
He was holding a torn envelope.
"Mom," he said quietly.
"I found the desk.""
Grandma stood.
"Was the letter inside?""
Dad shook his head.
"No.""
He placed the torn envelope on my blanket.
"Vanessa found it first.""
My stomach tightened.
"Did she destroy it?""
Dad looked at me.
"Not completely.""
He reached into his coat and removed a folded sheet of paper.
The handwriting was unmistakably my mother's.
At the top were six words:
Emily, if you are reading this...
Dad unfolded the page.
His eyes moved across the first paragraph.
Then he stopped.
"Michael?"" Grandma whispered.
He looked up.
"Laura knew Vanessa was stealing from her.""
I felt the blood drain from my face.
But Dad wasn't finished.
He read the next sentence.
"She also knew Vanessa wasn't the person she claimed to be when she first entered our lives.""
Grandma covered her mouth.
Dad turned the page over.
There was a name written at the bottom.
A name none of us expected.
*And beneath it, my mother had written a final warning:*
Do not trust the woman who calls herself Vanessa. She already knows what happened to my first husband.
Dad stared at the paper.
Then he whispered:
"First husband?""
Neither of us knew what that meant.
But at that exact moment, his phone rang.
The caller was the attorney.
"Michael, we found something in Vanessa's original marriage records.""
Dad answered.
"What?""
May you like
The attorney's voice dropped.
"Vanessa wasn't using her real identity when she married you.""
