Chapter 4
Dad didn't want me going.
I refused to stay home.
So Emma came over.
Dad's sister had always been kind to me.
She was the only adult who never treated me differently from Caleb and Ava.
She looked at the note.
Then at Dad.
“Why would Vanessa send you to Rachel's grave?”
Dad shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Emma looked at me.
“Nia, what exactly did you find in the attic?”
I told her.
Everything.
The box.
The letters.
The bank statements.
The missing money.
Emma listened silently.
Then she asked:
“Did your mother have another account?”
“I don't know.”
Dad stared at her.
“Why?”
Emma hesitated.
“Because Rachel once told me she was afraid Vanessa would take something from Nia.”
Dad froze.
“You knew?”
“Not everything.”
“When?”
“Months before Rachel died.”
Dad looked devastated.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Rachel asked me not to.”
“Why?”
“She said you wouldn't believe her.”
That sentence hurt.
Dad looked at the floor.
“Why wouldn't I?”
“Because Vanessa had already convinced you Rachel was unstable.”
I looked at Dad.
He didn't deny it.
My mother had been sick before she died.
She had suffered from a serious illness.
During the last year, she became frightened and suspicious.
Vanessa had told everyone Rachel was confused.
Paranoid.
Unable to manage money.
Dad had believed her.
Now he wondered if some of those fears had been warnings.
We went to the cemetery.
The note led us to Mom's grave.
There was nothing there.
Then Dad noticed something.
A small metal plaque beneath the flowers.
He pulled it loose.
Behind it was a key.
Attached was a paper.
UNIT 214.
Emma whispered:
“Harrison Storage.”
Dad recognized it.
An old storage facility owned by his company.
We drove there.
Unit 214 was still registered under my mother's name.
Dad used the key.
Inside were boxes.
Hundreds of them.
Photographs.
Documents.
Letters.
And a small tape recorder.
Dad pressed play.
Mom's voice filled the room.
“Marcus, if you are hearing this, Vanessa has probably discovered the account.”
Dad closed his eyes.
Mom continued.
“I know you think I don't trust you.”
“I do.”
“I don't trust what has been placed between us.”
“I believe Vanessa has been taking money.”
“But that isn't the worst thing.”
Dad looked at Emma.
Mom's voice continued.
“The worst thing is what she has been telling Nia.”
I felt cold.
Mom said:
“She wants Nia to believe that you chose Vanessa over her.”
Dad covered his mouth.
Mom continued.
“Because Vanessa knows something you don't.”
A pause.
Then:
“Nia isn't just my daughter.”
Dad stared at the recorder.
“What does that mean?”
The tape clicked.
Mom's voice returned.
“She is the legal beneficiary of something your father created before he died.”
Dad's father.
My grandfather.
The man I'd barely remembered.
Mom said:
“He created a trust for his grandchildren.”
Dad frowned.
“That makes no sense.”
“It does if Vanessa knows the trust exists.”
Then Mom said the sentence that changed everything.
“The trust is worth more than two million dollars.”
Dad went completely still.
I stared at him.
Two million dollars.
For me?
Mom continued.
“Vanessa knows about it.”
“She has been trying to gain control of Nia's inheritance.”
The tape stopped.
Dad stared at the machine.
Emma whispered:
“There's more.”
She found another cassette.
Label:
FOR NIA — WHEN SHE IS OLD ENOUGH.
Dad hesitated.
Then handed it to me.
I pressed play.
Mom's voice was softer.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
My throat closed.
“If you're hearing this, you're old enough to know the truth.”
“You were never unwanted.”
“You were never less important.”
“I know there were moments when you thought I loved you less because I couldn't protect you.”
“I did love you.”
“I loved you every second.”
Tears ran down my face.
Then Mom said:
“Your father loves you too.”
I looked at Dad.
He was crying.
Mom continued.
“But there is one thing I never told him.”
The recording crackled.
Then:
“Nia, the man you call Dad may not be your biological father.”
The room went silent.
Dad stared at me.
I stared at him.
Mom's voice continued.
“But he is the father I chose for you.”
The recording stopped.
Nobody spoke.
Then Emma whispered:
“Oh, Rachel…”
Dad sat down.
I couldn't breathe.
My entire childhood suddenly felt like a question.
Then the storage-unit door opened.
We turned.
Vanessa stood there.
Her face was pale.
And beside her was a man I'd never seen before.
Daniel.
The name on the hotel receipt.
He looked at Dad.
Then at me.
Then smiled.
“You finally found the box.”
Dad stood.
“What do you want?”
Daniel answered:
“What's mine.”
Dad stepped in front of me.
“You're not taking anything.”
Daniel smiled.
“I don't want her money.”
May you like
He pointed at me.
“I want what her mother promised me.”
