Chapter 6: What Happened Before My Mother Died
The police officer asked everyone to sit down.
Nobody did.
Rebecca stood beside the kitchen counter, gripping its edge. Hailey sat on the bottom stair, staring at the floor. Dad remained near the dining table, while Uncle Daniel opened his briefcase.
I couldn't stop looking at the photograph.
Mom had been smiling.
I was a baby in her arms, wearing a yellow knitted sweater.
She looked healthy.
Happy.
Nothing like the woman I remembered from her final months.
"Uncle Daniel," I said quietly.
"What happened before Mom died?""
He closed the briefcase.
"Your mother discovered that someone had been accessing her financial accounts.""
Dad frowned.
"What?""
Daniel nodded.
"About four months before she died, Sarah noticed several withdrawals from an account she shared with the household.""
Rebecca immediately interrupted.
"That account was used for family expenses.""
Daniel looked at her.
"Not those expenses.""
"What does that mean?""
"It means money was being transferred to an account under your name.""
Rebecca's face went pale.
Dad turned toward her.
"Is that true?""
She crossed her arms.
"I was managing the household finances.""
"Did you transfer Sarah's money?""
"I paid bills!""
Daniel pulled out a bank statement.
"These weren't bills.""
He placed it on the table.
The document showed multiple transfers.
Different dates.
Different amounts.
The total was more than forty thousand dollars.
I stared at the number.
"That's a lot of money.""
Daniel nodded.
"Your mother discovered the transfers and confronted Rebecca. Two days later, she called me.""
Rebecca laughed nervously.
"This is absurd. Anyone can print a bank statement.""
Daniel opened another folder.
"That's why I brought certified copies.""
Dad picked up the pages.
His hands began trembling.
"Rebecca, tell me this isn't real.""
She looked at him.
"Marcus, I was trying to keep things together. Your wife was sick. You were constantly at the hospital. Someone had to pay for everything.""
"With her money?""
"With family money!""
"That money belonged to Sarah.""
Rebecca's voice rose.
"And what about me? What about Hailey? We lived here too!""
Dad stared at her.
"That doesn't give you the right to steal.""
Hailey suddenly stood.
"Mom said the money was hers!""
Rebecca turned sharply.
"Hailey, sit down.""
"But you said Grandma left it to you!""
Daniel looked at the girl.
"Your mother told you that?""
Hailey nodded.
"She said Sarah's family had promised her money when she married Dad.""
Daniel shook his head.
"Sarah's family never promised Rebecca anything.""
Rebecca pointed at him.
"Stay out of my family!""
Daniel didn't move.
"I was Sarah's family.""
He reached into his briefcase and removed a second document.
"This is the original medical authorization Sarah signed. She had selected a specialist at a private hospital. The procedure was scheduled for the following week.""
Dad took the paper.
"I never saw this.""
"Because the appointment was canceled.""
Dad looked up.
"By whom?""
Daniel placed another page beside it.
The cancellation request had been submitted using a household email address.
Rebecca's email address.
Dad stared at her.
"You canceled my wife's appointment?""
Rebecca began shaking her head.
"I didn't understand what I was doing.""
"Answer me!""
She burst into tears.
"Sarah was already very sick! The specialist said the treatment might not work. I thought it was pointless to spend all that money.""
Daniel's voice was cold.
"You weren't her doctor.""
"I was trying to protect the family!""
Dad gripped the edge of the table.
"She was my wife.""
Rebecca lowered her head.
"And I was trying to protect what would be left after she died.""
The room went silent.
I felt something break inside me.
For years, I had believed Mom's illness had simply become too severe for treatment.
I had believed every decision had been made with love and desperation.
Now I was hearing that someone had interfered with her care while counting the money she would leave behind.
"Did Mom know?"" I whispered.
Daniel looked at me.
"She suspected. That's why she arranged the trust.""
He turned to the briefcase.
"Sarah understood that if she died before the property was legally transferred, someone might try to take advantage of the situation.""
He removed a small brass lock mechanism.
It was old, with a circular keyhole.
My mother's key.
"The cabinet in the garage," I said.
Daniel nodded.
"Your mother placed the final documents inside it. She wanted you to have them when you turned eighteen.""
Dad took the key from my hand.
"Let's go.""
We walked through the kitchen and into the garage.
The cabinet stood beneath an old shelf of gardening tools.
Its wooden doors were faded, and one hinge was rusted.
Daniel knelt and examined the lock.
"Sarah installed this herself.""
Dad inserted the key.
It turned with a soft click.
Inside were several folders wrapped in a blue cloth.
I recognized the cloth immediately.
It had once been Mom's favorite scarf.
Dad carefully removed the folders.
The first contained photographs.
The second held old receipts.
The third had a handwritten label.
*PROPERTY — NIA REED.*
My heart began pounding.
Daniel opened it.
Inside was an original deed, a notarized trust agreement, and a sealed envelope.
Dad read the first page.
Then he sat down on an overturned paint bucket.
"Daniel...""
"What?""
Dad looked at the document again.
"Sarah transferred the property into the trust before she died.""
Daniel nodded.
"Exactly.""
"But this says the trust was registered.""
"Because it was.""
I stepped closer.
"Then why did Rebecca say the house wasn't mine?""
Daniel looked at me.
"Because she wanted you to believe the transfer had never happened.""
Dad examined the registration stamp.
The document had been recorded at the county office more than a month before Mom died.
The house was protected.
My mother had done exactly what she promised.
I looked at the envelope.
"What's that?""
Daniel handed it to me.
My name was written across the front.
The same handwriting.
The same careful loops.
I opened it.
Inside was a letter and a smaller document.
The letter began:
My dearest Nia,
If you are reading this, I wasn't able to be there when you became a young woman. I hope your father has kept his promise to protect you.
I stopped.
My eyes blurred.
Dad placed a hand on my shoulder.
I continued.
There is one thing I need you to understand. The house is not just a building. It is the place where I wanted you to have a safe beginning, no matter what happened to me.
I have made arrangements for you to own it when you turn eighteen. Nobody should ever be able to take that away from you.
Then came the sentence that made Daniel close his eyes.
But if Rebecca is still living in the house when you read this, please be careful.
I looked up.
Dad's face had gone completely pale.
I continued reading.
She knows about the trust. She knows what I discovered. And I am afraid she will not stop until she gets what she wants.
The letter ended with one final instruction.
Ask Daniel about the second beneficiary. There is another person who was supposed to be protected by this trust.
I lowered the paper.
"Who?""
Daniel didn't answer.
Dad looked at him.
"Sarah never told me there was another beneficiary.""
Daniel slowly removed the last document from the folder.
It was a separate page attached to the trust agreement.
At the bottom was a name.
*Hailey Reed.*
I stared.
"Hailey?""
Daniel nodded.
"Your mother wanted to make sure both girls had a future.""
I looked at Dad.
"What does that mean?""
He examined the document.
"Sarah established a separate financial provision for Hailey. It wasn't ownership of the house, but it was enough to help her with college and living expenses.""
I felt confused.
"Then why would Rebecca need to steal the house?""
Daniel turned the page.
"Because the provision was conditional.""
Dad read the clause aloud.
"Funds would be released only if Hailey completed her education and the trust remained intact.""
I looked toward the garage door.
Rebecca was standing there.
She had followed us.
Her eyes were fixed on the document.
Daniel noticed.
"How long have you been standing there?""
Rebecca didn't answer.
Instead, she looked at the page in Dad's hand.
Then she whispered:
"Sarah promised that money to Hailey.""
Dad stood.
"It was already arranged. You didn't need to steal anything.""
Rebecca's expression twisted.
"That money wasn't enough.""
"Enough for what?""
She looked directly at me.
"For the life I was supposed to have.""
Then she reached into her handbag.
The police officer immediately stepped forward.
"Ma'am, keep your hands where I can see them.""
Rebecca froze.
Slowly, she pulled out a folded document.
She placed it on the workbench.
Daniel looked at it.
His face changed.
"Marcus...""
Dad picked it up.
It was a withdrawal request for the trust.
And beneath the request was a signature that appeared to belong to me.
I stared at it.
"I never signed that.""
Daniel examined the date.
Then he looked at Rebecca.
"Where did you get this?""
She said nothing.
Dad turned the page over.
A witness signature appeared at the bottom.
His own name.
His own handwriting.
But the date was from a day when he had been working hundreds of miles away.
Daniel slowly looked at him.
"Marcus, someone has been impersonating both of you.""
Then he pointed to the final line.
The trust withdrawal had already been approved.
May you like
And the money had been transferred three days earlier.
*To an account belonging to Hailey.*
