Chapter 2 - THE CODE THAT USED MY NAME
Emily had spent seven years believing her mother left her nothing complicated.
There were photographs.
A few dresses.
A pearl necklace Robert said Emily could have when she married.
And memories that arrived unexpectedly—in perfume counters, old songs, and the smell of cinnamon tea.
No one had ever mentioned a trust.
Robert sat behind the study desk with both hands pressed against his forehead.
Vanessa stood beside him.
Ashley leaned against the bookcase.
Emily remained near the safe.
“What did Mom leave me?”
Robert exhaled.
“Part of the house.”
Emily stared at him.
“This house?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Your mother owned half of it before we married. She placed her interest into a trust for you.”
“When do I get it?”
“At twenty-one.”
Emily looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa’s face was unreadable.
Then Emily looked at Ashley.
Ashley already knew.
That frightened her more than the missing papers.
“How did you know about it?”
Ashley shrugged.
“I hear things.”
“What things?”
“Family things.”
“You’re not answering.”
Vanessa snapped, “Stop interrogating her.”
Emily laughed in disbelief.
“She framed me for stealing earrings.”
“You don’t know that.”
“The earrings were in her bag.”
Ashley spoke calmly.
“Because you put them there.”
Emily turned toward her.
Ashley continued.
“You knew I was looking for them. You knew Mom would blame you. So you hid them in my bag and made yourself the victim.”
The lie was so clean that Vanessa immediately reached for it.
Robert did not.
He stood and walked to the security panel mounted near the study door.
The safe was not connected to the alarm, but the study entrance was.
Robert opened the access history.
A code had disabled the upstairs motion sensor at 2:13 a.m.
The user name was EMILY.
Emily felt the floor shift under her.
“That’s impossible.”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“It’s your code.”
“I was asleep.”
Ashley smiled without smiling.
“That’s what you said.”
Robert checked the log again.
The upstairs motion sensor reactivated at 2:31.
Eighteen minutes.
Long enough to open a safe.
Long enough to remove documents.
Emily stared at the screen.
“My code is my birthday.”
Vanessa gave a bitter laugh.
“Exactly. Who else would use it?”
Emily looked at Ashley.
Anyone in the house could know her birthday.
But proving that was another matter.
Robert opened the safe again and searched carefully.
“What else is missing?” Emily asked.
He looked uncomfortable.
“A small envelope.”
“What was in it?”
“Your mother’s amended trust agreement.”
“And?”
Robert hesitated.
“A letter.”
“To who?”
He looked at Emily.
“To you.”
Silence.
Emily’s anger sharpened.
“You kept a letter from Mom for seven years?”
“She asked me to give it to you when you turned twenty-one.”
“What did it say?”
“I never opened it.”
Vanessa looked away.
Emily noticed.
Before she could ask why, Robert’s phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression changed.
“Who is it?” Vanessa asked.
“David Klein.”
Emily recognized the name.
Her mother’s old attorney.
Robert answered.
David did not bother with small talk.
His voice was loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.
“Robert, I just got an automated notice that someone requested a title search on the house.”
Robert stood straighter.
“What?”
“And another thing. If anyone puts refinancing documents in front of you tomorrow, do not sign them.”
Vanessa’s face turned white.
Emily slowly looked at her.
Robert noticed too.
“Vanessa?”
She swallowed.
Ashley stopped leaning against the bookcase.
David continued through the phone.
“Because someone has already submitted paperwork claiming Emily consented to encumber her trust interest.”
May you like
Emily’s skin went cold.
“I consented to what?”
