Chapter 7: The Second Will
Richard stared at the message on his phone.
I know they found the box. Get your mother out of that house before they discover the second will.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
Then he quickly locked his screen.
Marcus noticed.
“Bad news?””
Richard slipped the phone into his pocket.
“Nothing.””
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
“Funny. You look like someone just told you the police are coming.””
Richard glared at him.
“Stay out of this.””
Margaret slowly approached her son.
“Richard, what is a second will?””
He looked at her.
“Nothing you need to worry about.””
“Your father left two wills?””
“Mom, please.””
“Answer me!””
The sudden strength in her voice surprised everyone.
Margaret had spent eleven months accepting unanswered calls, cancelled visits, and excuses.
She wasn't going to accept another one.
Richard looked toward Vanessa.
She was still holding her phone.
“Give me that recording,” he demanded.
“No.””
“Vanessa, I'm warning you.””
She stepped behind Marcus.
“I'm done being warned.””
Peter Walsh opened the blue folder again.
“Mrs. Whitmore, I need to explain something. Your husband's original will appears to have been properly executed. But the documents here suggest he may have prepared a later estate plan.””
Margaret looked confused.
“Why wouldn't he tell me?””
Peter examined the dates.
“Perhaps he intended to explain it later. Or perhaps he was protecting you from something.””
Ethan picked up the message that Richard had received.
“You mentioned a second will. Is that what Thomas Bell is worried about?””
Richard said nothing.
Marcus extended his hand.
“Show me the message.””
“Absolutely not.””
“Then read it aloud.””
Richard laughed.
“Who do you think you are?””
Marcus's expression didn't change.
“A man who's spent the last hour watching you frighten your mother.””
Richard looked at Margaret.
She held out her hand.
“Richard. Let me see.””
He hesitated.
Then, reluctantly, handed her the phone.
She read the message twice.
Her lips trembled.
“Your father wrote another will?””
Richard took the phone back.
“I don't know.””
Vanessa spoke quietly.
“Yes, you do.””
Richard turned.
“What?””
“You told me about it two weeks ago. You said your father had left something that could ruin you.””
Richard's face tightened.
“I said nothing like that.””
“You said Thomas was supposed to find it before your mother did.””
Lily looked between her parents.
“Dad, why would Grandpa leave something that could ruin you?””
Richard looked at his daughter.
“Because your grandfather was cruel.””
Margaret shook her head.
“Don't speak about him like that.””
Richard laughed bitterly.
“You still defend him. Even now.””
“He was my husband.””
“He was also the reason I spent my whole life trying to prove myself.””
Margaret's eyes filled.
“Your father paid for your education. He gave you a job. He helped you buy your first house.””
“And he reminded me every single day that I owed him!””
The room went silent.
Then Richard pointed at the metal box.
“Do you know what that box represents? Thirty years of Dad controlling everything. He made decisions for everyone and called it love.””
Marcus folded his arms.
“Maybe you should have talked to him instead of stealing his money.””
Richard stepped toward him.
“Shut up.””
Peter raised his voice.
“Richard, I strongly advise you not to threaten anyone.””
Richard turned away.
Ethan returned to the documents.
“There's a reference here.””
He pointed to a handwritten note inside Frank's original will.
Supplementary testamentary instructions held in safe custody. Release upon proof of identity and death certificate.
“Safe custody,” Ethan repeated.
Peter nodded.
“That usually means a lawyer, bank, or another authorized custodian.””
Margaret looked at the note.
“Frank had a lawyer in the city. A woman named Eleanor Price.””
Peter's eyes widened.
“Eleanor Price?””
“Yes. She handled our estate planning.””
Peter slowly removed his glasses.
“She retired several years ago, but her firm still maintains archived estate records.””
Ethan looked at Marcus.
“We need to contact her.””
Richard suddenly shook his head.
“No.””
Everyone turned.
“Why not?”” Marcus asked.
“Because she's not involved anymore.””
Peter looked directly at him.
“You don't know that.””
Richard's voice rose.
“I'm telling you, there's nothing to find!””
Margaret looked at her son.
“Then why are you so afraid?””
Richard didn't answer.
Instead, he walked downstairs.
A moment later, the front door slammed.
Vanessa sank into a chair.
Lily sat beside her.
“Mom, what's happening?””
Vanessa held her daughter tightly.
“Something I should have stopped a long time ago.””
Marcus looked toward the window.
Richard's car was already pulling out of the driveway.
Ethan checked his phone.
“Thomas Bell is calling him again.””
Peter shook his head.
“This is becoming much more serious than a property dispute.””
Margaret sat down beside the open metal box.
She picked up Frank's photograph and ran her fingers over his face.
“He knew,” she whispered.
Marcus knelt beside her.
“Knew what?””
“That Richard was in trouble. He knew something was happening, and he tried to protect us.””
Her voice broke.
“I just wish he'd told me.””
Then Lily reached into the bottom of the box.
“Grandma?””
She pulled out a small white envelope that had been taped beneath the metal lid.
On the front were five words.
*To Margaret. Open with Eleanor.*
Margaret carefully removed the tape.
Inside was a business card.
Eleanor Price.
And beneath it, written in Frank's familiar handwriting, was a telephone number.
Ethan took out his phone.
“I'll call first thing tomorrow.””
Peter shook his head.
“There's a better option. Eleanor is hosting a private Thanksgiving gathering tonight at her daughter's house. I know the address.””
Margaret looked up.
“Tonight?””
Peter nodded.
“It's about twenty minutes away.””
Marcus glanced at the clock.
Then at Margaret.
“Do you want to go?””
Margaret looked down at her wedding ring.
For the first time that evening, her voice was steady.
“Yes.””
She stood, gripping her walker.
“I want to know what my husband was trying to tell me.””
But as they prepared to leave, Vanessa received another message.
It came from an unknown number.
There was only one sentence.
If Margaret reaches Eleanor Price tonight, your daughter will learn who her real father is.
Vanessa dropped the phone.
Lily looked at her.
May you like
“Mom?””
Vanessa's face had gone completely white.
