Chapter 6: The Missing Trust Agreement
Vanessa backed away from the counter.
"I don't know what you're talking about.""
I held up my phone.
"Someone says you know what happened to the original trust agreement.""
"Someone is trying to turn you against me.""
"Then tell me where it is.""
She glanced toward Dad, who had remained seated at the dining table. His hands were clasped together, and Max rested his head on Dad's slipper.
Vanessa lowered her voice.
"Michael, can we talk privately?""
"No. Not anymore.""
Her eyes widened.
"You're humiliating me in front of him!""
I looked at my father.
"He's the one you've been humiliating for six weeks.""
She flinched.
Then she reached for my hand.
"Please. I know I made mistakes. But you don't understand how much pressure I've been under.""
I pulled away.
"Tell me about the agreement.""
She sank into a chair.
"The original document was in Richard's study. Daniel asked me to find it.""
"Why?""
"He said he needed to check something with his attorney.""
"Did you give it to him?""
She stared at the table.
"Yes.""
"When?""
"Three weeks ago.""
I closed my eyes for a moment.
Three weeks.
That was before the doctor's appointment, before the forged letter, before Dad's desperate attempts to call me.
"What else did you give him?""
"Nothing.""
"Vanessa.""
She pressed her fingers against her forehead.
"Some account statements. Copies of the trust documents. A list of Richard's assets.""
"His financial information?""
"Daniel said it was necessary to prepare the application.""
I stepped back from the table.
"You gave my brother my father's private financial records without permission.""
"He said he was trying to help!""
"And you believed him?""
"I wanted to believe him!""
Her voice broke, and tears filled her eyes.
For a moment, I remembered the woman who used to sit beside me on the couch and ask about my day. The woman who'd once driven across town at midnight because I'd forgotten my lunch at the office.
I wanted to believe that person was still somewhere inside her.
But then I looked at Dad.
He was rubbing his knees, trying to ease the pain of sitting too long. His dinner plate remained untouched.
"Where is the original agreement now?"" I asked.
"I don't know.""
"Did Daniel return it?""
"No.""
"Did you ask?""
She hesitated.
"Once.""
"What did he say?""
"He said it was being reviewed.""
"By whom?""
"His attorney, I think.""
I shook my head.
"You think?""
"Michael, I wasn't involved in every detail!""
I stared at her.
"You were involved enough to take two hundred thousand dollars.""
She started crying in earnest.
"I never meant for any of this to happen.""
Dad finally spoke.
"Then why did you tell me my son would abandon me?""
Vanessa covered her face.
"I was angry.""
"You told me I was a burden.""
"I was frustrated!""
"You locked me out of the bedroom.""
"I needed the room to stay clean!""
Dad's voice remained quiet.
"And you made me eat beside Max.""
Vanessa lowered her hands.
"I said I was sorry!""
"No," Dad replied.
"You said I was old.""
The simplicity of his words silenced the room.
I walked over to Dad and crouched beside him.
"Would you like to go somewhere else tonight? Somewhere comfortable?""
He looked surprised.
"This is my home, Michael.""
"I know. I just want you to feel safe.""
Dad considered that for a moment.
Then he reached down and scratched Max behind the ears.
"I'd like to sleep in my own bed.""
"You will.""
I helped him stand and walked with him toward the guest bedroom.
When we reached the door, I stopped.
The new lock was still attached to the outside.
My hands curled into fists.
I took a screwdriver from the utility drawer and removed it. Then I carried the lock into the kitchen and placed it on the counter in front of Vanessa.
"That stays off.""
She didn't respond.
I helped Dad settle into bed, brought him fresh water, and made sure his medication was within reach. Max curled up on the rug beside him.
Dad caught my hand before I left.
"Michael?""
"Yes?""
"Don't let what happened here make you cruel.""
I sat on the edge of the bed.
"I'm not trying to be cruel, Dad.""
"I know. But anger can make a person forget who they are.""
I swallowed hard.
"I should have noticed.""
He squeezed my fingers.
"You trusted your wife. That's not a crime.""
"But I left you here.""
"You came back.""
His eyes grew wet.
"That's what matters now.""
I kissed his forehead and closed the door most of the way, leaving it open enough for Max to move in and out.
When I returned to the kitchen, Vanessa was sitting alone at the table.
Her untouched wine had left a dark ring on the wood.
"I need you to understand something," she said.
I remained standing.
"Go ahead.""
"Daniel told me your father had changed the trust without telling anyone. He said Richard could sell the house whenever he wanted, but he might leave nothing for the family.""
"What family?""
"Us!""
"You're not entitled to Dad's property.""
"I'm your wife!""
"And he's my father.""
She wiped her cheeks.
"Daniel said the trust could be challenged if Richard was no longer capable of managing it. He told me the doctor would confirm that.""
"Did you know the application included a statement claiming Dad had signed the agreement?""
She looked up sharply.
"What statement?""
"The one with his forged signature.""
"I never saw that!""
"Then why are you afraid?""
She stood abruptly.
"Because I know how this looks!""
"How does it look, Vanessa?""
She opened her mouth, then shut it again.
I took a step toward the study.
"I'm going to find out exactly what happened to the original agreement.""
She moved in front of me.
"You can't go through my things.""
"Then move.""
Her expression hardened.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then she stepped aside.
I entered the study and began searching the filing cabinets. I found old tax returns, business contracts, and insurance documents. The drawer where Dad kept the trust papers was empty.
But beneath a stack of folders, I found an envelope addressed to Margaret Ellis.
It was sealed.
Inside was a handwritten note from my father, dated two months earlier.
Margaret, I am concerned that someone may be attempting to obtain control of my property without my consent. Please keep the enclosed instructions confidential until I can speak with you in person.
There was no attachment.
Only a second page containing a list of names.
Daniel.
Vanessa.
And a third name I didn't recognize.
Beneath the list, Dad had written:
If anything happens to me, contact this person before releasing any information about the trust.
I stared at the unfamiliar name.
*Evelyn Brooks.*
I had never heard my father mention anyone by that name.
I carried the note into the kitchen.
"Vanessa, who is Evelyn Brooks?""
The color drained from her face so quickly that I knew the name meant something to her.
She gripped the edge of the table.
"Where did you find that?""
"In Dad's study.""
She shook her head.
"Michael, you need to stop looking for things you don't understand.""
"Who is she?""
Vanessa looked toward the hallway, then back at me.
"She's the woman Daniel told me never to contact.""
My phone vibrated again.
The unknown number had sent another message.
Evelyn Brooks is your father's former business partner. She knows why Daniel disappeared twelve years ago.
I read it twice.
Then a photograph arrived.
It showed my father standing outside a courthouse, much younger, with his arm around a woman in a dark coat.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written a date from twelve years earlier.
And beneath it were five words that made my blood run cold.
Daniel didn't leave because of money.
I looked toward the hallway, where my father was finally sleeping in a proper bed.
Then I turned back to Vanessa.
"What happened twelve years ago?""
She shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes again.
"You need to ask your father.""
"He's been trying to tell me the truth all evening.""
"No," she whispered.
"You don't understand. If Richard tells you what really happened, Daniel won't just lose the house.""
She swallowed.
"He could lose everything.""
And before I could ask what she meant, someone knocked three times on the front door.
Vanessa went completely still.
May you like
Then she whispered a name.
"Evelyn.""
