Chapter 6: The Woman Who Knew My Mother's Last Secret
I read the message three times before showing it to Dad.
His face hardened.
"Call the number.""
I pressed the call button.
It rang once.
Twice.
Then a recorded voice announced that the number was no longer in service.
David took the phone from my hand and examined the screen.
"Whoever sent this knows about Patricia.""
"Or they're trying to make us believe they do," Dad replied.
I looked at the two men.
"My mother died in a hospital. We were there. What could they possibly mean by saying she didn't die the way we were told?""
Neither answered.
The silence made me angrier than any accusation.
"I want the truth," I said.
"All of it. I'm tired of everyone deciding what I'm old enough to know.""
David nodded.
"Then we start with Patricia.""
Dad reached for his keys.
"We'll find her.""
Daniel arrived twenty minutes later, carrying additional paperwork from his office. He listened to the message, examined the account statement, and frowned when David mentioned Patricia Cole.
"Patricia was listed as a witness on the original trust documents," he said.
"She also signed a statement confirming Laura understood the terms of the inheritance.""
"Can you find her?"" I asked.
Daniel opened his laptop.
"I can try. But if she's been deliberately avoiding contact, we may need to go through official channels.""
Dad paced beside the dining table.
"Vanessa knows her. She must know where she went.""
"Vanessa isn't talking," I reminded him.
"Then we'll find someone who is.""
As if summoned by her name, Vanessa appeared at the top of the stairs.
She wore a silk robe and held her phone in one hand.
"Are you seriously planning to turn this house into a police station?""
Dad looked at her.
"Where is Patricia Cole?""
Vanessa stopped moving.
The change was immediate. Her fingers tightened around her phone, and her eyes darted toward David.
"I haven't spoken to Patricia in years.""
David stepped forward.
"Then why did you tell me she had confirmed Laura changed the trust?""
Vanessa's face flushed.
"I don't know what you're talking about.""
"You showed me a document with her name on it.""
"I showed you nothing.""
"You told me she witnessed Laura signing away the account.""
Vanessa laughed nervously.
"You're making things up.""
Daniel closed his laptop.
"Mrs. Reed, if you have documents relating to the trust, I strongly advise you to preserve them. Destroying or concealing financial records could create serious legal problems.""
She stared at him.
"Are you threatening me?""
"I'm advising you.""
Vanessa turned toward Dad.
"You invited this man into our home to accuse me of crimes?""
"No," Dad replied.
"You invited this situation when you took Emily's money.""
She looked at me with unmistakable hatred.
"You have no idea what your mother put me through.""
I stepped closer.
"Then tell me.""
Vanessa's lips trembled.
For a second, I thought she might finally reveal something useful.
Instead, she said, "Your mother made promises she never intended to keep.""
"What promises?""
"She told me I'd be taken care of.""
"With my inheritance?""
"With money she owed me!""
Dad slammed his palm against the table.
"How much did Laura owe you?""
Vanessa recoiled.
"I don't remember the exact amount.""
"Then why was there a transfer of $190,000 into your account?""
She looked toward Tyler, who had just appeared in the hallway.
He'd been silent since the previous night. Now he stepped into the room, holding a printed bank statement.
"I found another transaction," he said.
Vanessa closed her eyes.
"Tyler, please.""
He ignored her.
"The bank sent me a detailed report. There's a transfer from my account to a company called Cole Financial Services.""
Daniel immediately looked up.
"Patricia Cole's company?""
Tyler nodded.
"The transfer was for $48,000. It happened two years ago.""
Dad took the statement.
"Why would your mother send money to Patricia?""
Tyler looked sick.
"I don't know. But there's another payment from that same company to a private account. The account holder is listed as—"
He stopped.
"What?"" I asked.
Tyler swallowed.
"The account belongs to David Bennett.""
Everyone turned toward David.
His face went rigid.
"That's impossible.""
Tyler held up the statement.
"It's right here.""
David took it and studied the details.
For the first time since he'd arrived, he looked genuinely frightened.
"I never received forty-eight thousand dollars.""
Daniel leaned over his shoulder.
"What's the transaction date?""
David pointed to it.
Daniel pulled out his own paperwork and compared the account numbers.
Then he shook his head.
"This transfer wasn't made to David's personal account. It went to an account using his name, but the routing details don't match his bank.""
Dad's voice became sharp.
"Someone impersonated him.""
"Possibly," Daniel said.
"Or someone created a fraudulent account.""
Vanessa began backing toward the staircase.
Dad noticed.
"Don't move.""
She froze.
"You can't keep me here.""
"I'm not keeping you anywhere. But if you've been transferring money through accounts using other people's identities, the police will want to hear about it.""
Vanessa's face twisted.
"You think I'm the only person who knew about Laura's money?""
The room went silent.
She had said it too quickly.
Daniel stepped forward.
"Who else knew?""
Vanessa pressed her lips together.
"Ask Patricia.""
"Where is she?""
"I don't know!""
Dad pointed toward the front door.
"Then you're going to explain every transaction you made to the authorities.""
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
"You'd destroy our family over money?""
Dad looked at me.
"No. You did that when you stole from my daughter.""
He turned away from her and began dialing the police.
Vanessa stared at him, then at Tyler.
"You're going to let him do this to your mother?""
Tyler's face was pale.
"You told me the money was mine.""
"It was!""
"Then why did you keep transferring it away?""
She had no answer.
A few minutes later, Dad was speaking with an officer on the phone, explaining the missing funds and the suspicious will. Daniel gathered the documents into a folder. David stood by the window, staring at the driveway where the BMW sat beneath the basketball hoop.
I approached him.
"Do you think Patricia sent that message?""
"I don't know.""
"Do you think my mother was murdered?""
David turned sharply.
"I don't want you jumping to conclusions.""
"Then give me a reason not to.""
He looked toward the stairs, where Vanessa had disappeared into her bedroom.
"Because the hospital records may explain what happened. And if someone altered those records, we need to prove it before we accuse anyone.""
Daniel overheard him.
"That's something we can investigate through the proper channels.""
He opened his briefcase and removed a copy of Laura's death certificate.
I stared at the page.
The date was correct. The hospital's name was correct. The attending physician's signature looked legitimate.
But in the section listing the person who provided the information for the certificate, a name had been entered.
*Patricia Cole.*
I looked up.
"Why would Mom's best friend be listed as the informant?""
Daniel frowned.
"That's unusual, but not necessarily improper.""
David took the certificate from him.
"Patricia was with Laura when she was admitted to the hospital. She knew what the doctors had said.""
"Then why did she disappear?"" I asked.
Nobody knew.
Daniel promised to request the hospital records and verify the original trust documents. David offered to help trace the remaining account. Dad said he would cooperate with investigators and make sure Vanessa couldn't access any more of my money.
For the first time in twenty-four hours, I felt as though something might finally be moving in the right direction.
Then Tyler came downstairs carrying a small cardboard box.
"I found this in Mom's closet," he said.
Vanessa's voice erupted from upstairs.
"Tyler! Put that back!""
He ignored her and set the box on the table.
Inside were old photographs, bank envelopes, and a stack of hospital documents held together with a rubber band.
At the bottom lay a yellowed visitor badge from the hospital where my mother had died.
The name printed on it wasn't Vanessa's.
It wasn't David's.
It was Patricia Cole's.
Beneath the badge was a handwritten note, dated two days before my mother's death.
I recognized the handwriting immediately.
My mother had written it.
Patricia, if I cannot tell Emily myself, you must. Vanessa knows what happened that night, and if she gets the original papers, she'll make sure the truth disappears with me.
My hands began to shake.
Dad read the sentence over my shoulder.
David went completely still.
And upstairs, Vanessa stopped shouting.
Because from the moment I read those words aloud, every person in that house understood the same terrible thing.
My mother had known someone was coming for her money.
May you like
She had known someone was hiding the truth.
And she'd left one final warning about the woman who'd been standing beside her hospital bed when she died.
