Chapter 3 - The Trust They Thought Belonged to ThemWhen we returned to the hospital, two officers were standing outside Lily's room.
Michael was gone.
So was the attorney.
But the private investigator remained in the hallway.
He was a broad man in a gray jacket with a camera hanging from his shoulder.
Detective Collins approached him.
“Name?”
“Victor Hale.”
“License number?”
Victor handed her a card.
She examined it.
“You've been following Daniel Hart?”
“I'm conducting a lawful investigation.”
“Into what?”
“Child custody.”
“Who hired you?”
Victor didn't answer.
Detective Collins smiled.
“That's fine.”
She handed his card back.
“We'll subpoena your records.”
Victor's expression changed.
“You can't intimidate me.”
“I'm not trying to.”
She pointed toward the elevator.
“I'm telling you that if you return to this hospital without authorization, you'll be trespassing.”
Victor left.
I rushed into Lily's room.
She was awake.
“Dad!”
I hugged her.
“I'm here.”
“Where did you go?”
“To find answers.”
She looked frightened.
“Did you find them?”
“Not all of them.”
Detective Collins entered behind me.
“We found something important.”
She placed a folder on the table.
“The trust.”
I looked at it.
“What about it?”
“Anna's original trust agreement was different from the copy Michael submitted to the court.”
My heart skipped.
“How different?”
“The original names you as sole trustee.”
“And the copy?”
“Evelyn.”
I stared at the document.
“They forged it.”
“Possibly.”
“What about the signatures?”
“Anna's signature appears authentic.”
“Then how?”
Detective Collins pointed to the final page.
“The original has a handwritten amendment.”
I read it.
If Daniel is unable to serve as trustee, no member of my immediate family may assume control of Lily's inheritance.
Instead, an independent financial institution must administer the trust until Lily turns eighteen.
I looked up.
“Why would Anna add that?”
“That's what we're trying to determine.”
Then I remembered something.
“Anna knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That her family couldn't be trusted.”
Detective Collins nodded.
“She may have.”
I sat beside Lily.
For two years, I had believed Anna's death was the worst thing that had ever happened to us.
Now I realized that whatever she had discovered before she died might have been the reason people were still fighting over her daughter.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A woman's voice whispered:
“Daniel, don't trust Michael.”
“Who is this?”
“I worked for Anna.”
My heart stopped.
“What was your name?”
“Rachel.”
“Rachel who?”
“Rachel Monroe.”
I remembered her.
Anna's former accountant.
She had disappeared from our lives six months before Anna died.
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because they know I have the records.”
“What records?”
“The original financial files.”
Detective Collins moved closer.
“Ask where.”
I followed her instruction.
“Rachel, where can I meet you?”
Silence.
Then:
“The old train station.”
“Which one?”
“The one near the river.”
She hung up.
Detective Collins immediately called another officer.
“We're going.”
That evening, we met Rachel in an abandoned café beside the station.
She looked exhausted.
She handed Detective Collins a flash drive.
“This is everything Anna asked me to preserve.”
“What did Anna know?” I asked.
Rachel looked at me.
“She discovered money was being moved.”
“From the trust?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“More than two million dollars.”
I felt dizzy.
Rachel continued.
“She confronted Michael.”
“What happened?”
“He told her it was temporary.”
“Did she believe him?”
“No.”
“What did she do?”
“She changed her estate plan.”
I closed my eyes.
That explained the amendment.
Rachel reached into her bag.
“She also recorded a conversation.”
“Where is it?”
Rachel hesitated.
“That's why I called you.”
She pulled out another device.
An old digital recorder.
“Anna gave this to me the week before she died.”
Detective Collins pressed play.
Anna's voice filled the room.
“If anything happens to me, Daniel must know that Michael has been moving money from the trust.”
I stopped breathing.
Anna continued.
“He says he's protecting our daughter's future.”
A man's voice answered.
Michael.
“You're being paranoid.”
Anna replied:
“Then explain the transfers.”
Michael said nothing.
Then Anna whispered:
“If you touch Lily's inheritance again, I'll expose you.”
The recording ended.
I stared at the device.
“There's more,” Rachel said.
She opened the flash drive.
A video appeared.
Anna was sitting in our kitchen.
She looked tired.
But determined.
“If you're watching this, something has happened.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“I need you to know that I love you.”
I touched the screen.
Anna continued.
“Daniel, protect Lily from anyone who says they are doing this for her.”
The video ended.
I couldn't speak.
Detective Collins let me grieve.
Then she asked Rachel:
“Why didn't you come forward sooner?”
Rachel lowered her eyes.
“Because Michael threatened me.”
“With what?”
“My son.”
Silence.
She continued.
“He told me if I testified, my son would lose his job.”
Detective Collins looked at me.
“This is bigger than custody.”
I nodded.
Then my phone buzzed.
A text message.
FROM MICHAEL:
You should stop digging.
Another message followed.
I know where Lily goes to school.
My blood turned cold.
Detective Collins took the phone.
“We're escalating protection.”
I looked at Rachel.
“Is there anything else?”
She nodded.
“One thing.”
“What?”
“Anna didn't die believing Michael had stolen all the money.”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Rachel looked terrified.
“She believed the missing money was being transferred somewhere else.”
“Where?”
“She never found the final account.”
Detective Collins's phone rang.
She answered.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
She listened.
Then she looked at me.
“The storage facility was opened.”
“By whom?”
“Michael.”
“Did the police stop him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because the storage unit is registered under Anna's name.”
I stood.
“What was inside?”
Detective Collins lowered the phone.
“Nothing.”
“What?”
“The unit was empty.”
Except for one thing.
May you like
A small envelope.
Addressed to Lily.
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