PART4

Saturday morning arrived.

I waited until Brandon and Melissa left for their usual weekend shopping trip.

Their two children were staying with Melissa’s mother.

The house was quiet.

I loaded my suitcase into my old sedan.

Before leaving, I walked through the guest apartment one final time.

I stood beside the bed where Evelyn had spent her final weeks at home.

I touched the edge of her pillow.

“I’ll be all right,” I whispered.

Then I closed the door.

I didn’t leave a note.

I didn’t tell Brandon where I was going.

And I didn’t take a single thing that belonged to him.

At 10:45, I drove through the front gate.

I had already arranged a place to stay.

It was a small but beautiful cottage near Lake Michigan, about three hours away.

Evelyn and I had visited that area many years earlier.

We had always talked about returning someday.

We never did.

Now I was going alone.

By noon, Brandon returned home.

According to the security camera footage Margaret later showed me, he walked directly into the guest apartment.

He looked around.

Then he opened the bedroom closet.

He found the empty space where my suitcase had been.

He checked the bathroom.

Then he walked back into the main house.

“Melissa!”

His voice echoed through the hallway.

“What?”

“Have you seen Dad?”

“No. Why?”

“He’s not in the apartment.”

Melissa appeared in the doorway holding a shopping bag.

“So?”

“So, he’s gone!”

She rolled her eyes.

“Maybe he’s visiting one of his friends.”

“He didn’t tell me anything.”

“Brandon, he’s seventy-one. He probably wants some attention.”

I imagine she smiled when she said that.

My son called me.

I didn’t answer.

He called again.

And again.

By 2:00 p.m., I had seventeen missed calls.

At 3:30, Melissa began sending messages.

Robert, where are you?

You need to tell us before making decisions like this.

Brandon is worried.

I read the messages without responding.

At 5:00, Brandon sent another one.

Dad, this is getting ridiculous. Call me.

I put my phone on silent.

I went outside and sat on the cottage porch.

The lake was beautiful.

For the first time since Evelyn’s death, I could hear birds singing without immediately thinking about hospital machines.

I made myself dinner.

Then I went to bed early.

But at midnight, my phone began vibrating continuously.

When I finally picked it up, I saw the number.

140 missed calls.

I stared at the screen.

Then I noticed a new voicemail.

It was from Brandon.

His voice sounded different now.

He wasn’t angry anymore.

He sounded frightened.

“Dad, please call me. Something’s happened. We need to talk about the house.”

I sat up slowly.

There it was.

Not Are you safe?

Not Are you eating?

Not even How are you feeling?

The house.

I pressed play again.

And then I noticed a message from Margaret.

Robert, I’ve just sent the formal notice to Brandon and Melissa. Please call me when you have a moment. There’s something important you should know about their reaction.

I called her immediately.

She answered on the first ring.

“Robert, are you somewhere safe?”

“Yes. I’m at the cottage. What’s happened?”

She took a breath.

“Brandon received the notice. He called me almost immediately. He says he refuses to believe that he doesn’t own the house.”

I leaned back against the headboard.

“What did you tell him?”

“The truth. I explained that the property belongs to Mitchell Family Holdings and that his family’s right to occupy it is governed by the written agreement.”

“And?”

“He became very aggressive. He demanded to speak with you. Then he said something that concerned me.”

“What?”

Margaret hesitated.

“He claims that you promised him the house years ago.”

I frowned.

“I never promised him the house.”

“I know. I have the signed documents.”

Then she lowered her voice.

“But Robert, there’s another issue.”

I sat forward.

“What issue?”

“Brandon told me that he and Melissa have already used the property as collateral for a private financial arrangement.”

For a moment, I couldn’t process what she had said.

“Used the house as collateral?”

“Yes.”

“How is that possible? They don’t own it.”

“That’s precisely the problem.”

Margaret explained that Brandon had apparently signed documents with a private lender, claiming that the six-bedroom property would eventually be transferred to him.

He had apparently presented himself as the future owner.

And he had used that supposed future ownership to secure a substantial loan.

“How much?” I asked.

“Approximately $180,000.”

I closed my eyes.

One hundred and eighty thousand dollars.

My son had apparently borrowed money using a house that didn’t belong to him.

“Does the lender know who actually owns the property?”

“They’ve contacted us. They’re reviewing the documents now.”

I rubbed my forehead.

“Margaret, I want copies of everything.”

“I’ll send them first thing tomorrow.”

“Good.”

Then I asked the question that had been bothering me.

“Where did the money go?”

Margaret was silent.

“Robert, according to the information we’ve received so far, a significant portion appears to have gone toward credit card balances, a luxury vehicle, and a business investment.”

I stared at the wall.

A luxury vehicle.

While my wife had been lying in a hospital bed, Brandon had been spending money he didn’t have.

And now he was trying to convince a lender that he owned his parents’ property.

I thought about Evelyn.

I imagined her sitting beside me, shaking her head sadly.

“Don’t worry,” I told Margaret. “We’ll handle it properly. Everything must go through the legal process.”

“Understood.”

I ended the call.

Then I looked at the photograph of Evelyn on the bedside table.

“You knew, didn’t you?” I whispered.

I wondered how much she had suspected before she died.

And whether she had been trying to protect me from something I hadn’t yet discovered.

The following morning, Brandon called again.

This time, I answered.

“Dad!”

His voice was loud enough to make me move the phone away from my ear.

“Where are you?”

“I’m fine.”

“That’s not what I asked!”

“Then ask a better question.”

He went quiet.

“Dad, you need to come home.”

I looked outside.

The lake was calm.

The morning sunlight was shining across the water.

“This is my home for now.”

“You can’t just disappear!”

“I didn’t disappear. I went somewhere I could have some peace.”

“Melissa is upset. The children are asking where you are.”

“Then tell them Grandpa is taking a little time away.”

He sighed impatiently.

“Dad, forget all that. We need to discuss the house.”

I almost laughed.

“Of course we do.”

“Listen, I don’t know what Margaret told you, but there has obviously been a misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding?”

“The house was supposed to become mine eventually.”

I sat quietly.

“Who told you that?”

“Mom and you. Years ago.”

I looked down at Evelyn’s letter.

“Your mother and I allowed you to live there. That was the agreement.”

“No, Dad. You always said it was our family home.”

“It is a family home. That doesn’t mean you own it.”

Brandon became frustrated.

“Come on! We’ve lived there for fourteen years!”

“And I paid the taxes for fourteen years.”

“That was your choice!”

“Yes. It was.”

I paused.

“Just as stopping your allowance was your choice.”

He said nothing.

I continued.

“You wanted me to take care of myself, Brandon. I’m doing exactly that.”

“Dad, you’re being unreasonable.”

“No. I’m finally being clear.”

Then he said something that made my blood run cold.

“Mom would never have allowed you to do this.”

I looked at the photograph beside me.

For a moment, I couldn’t speak.

Then I answered quietly.

“Your mother left me a letter, Brandon.”

Silence.

“She asked me to start living for myself.”

I heard him breathe heavily.

“What letter?”

“Something I think you should have listened to her about while she was still alive.”

I ended the call.

That afternoon, Margaret sent me the first batch of documents.

I spent nearly two hours reviewing them.

The loan agreement was bad enough.

But what caught my attention was a document attached near the end.

It was a photocopy of a letter supposedly written by me.

The letter stated that I intended to transfer ownership of the six-bedroom property to Brandon within twelve months.

CONTINUE FOR NEXT PART5…