PART6
“I don’t have them.”
“Where did you put them?”
She started crying.
Not the quiet kind of crying.
The loud, angry kind that sounded more like frustration than sadness.
“You don’t understand what Mom has been dealing with! You have no idea what she has sacrificed for this family!”
I closed my eyes.
“Then tell me.”
“She was going to lose everything!”
“What does that mean?”
“She needed the money!”
“How much?”
“Christy, please.”
“How much did she need?”
Michaela took a shaky breath.
Then she said:
“Terrence borrowed money from the wrong people.”
I sat up.
“What?”
“His business was failing. He had debts. Mom tried to help him.”
“With Grandma’s money?”
“She was going to put it back!”
I looked at Fred.
He was no longer recording casually.
He was listening with complete concentration.
“How much does Terrence owe?”
Michaela began crying harder.
“Almost four hundred thousand dollars.”
I felt sick.
Four hundred thousand dollars.
That was why they needed the trust.
That was why Friday mattered.
That was why my signature had appeared on a document I had never signed.
“Did Mom know about the debts before Grandma died?”
Michaela didn’t answer.
“Michaela?”
“Yes.”
I slowly lowered my phone.
Then I asked the question that made everything go quiet.
“Was Grandma’s money supposed to pay Terrence’s creditors?”
My sister began sobbing.
“Please don’t make this worse.”
I felt my heart beating in my throat.
“Did you know about the tart?”
She stopped crying.
For several seconds, there was absolute silence.
Then she whispered:
“Christy, I never wanted you to die.”
I couldn’t breathe.
Fred immediately reached for my hand.
I stared at the phone.
“What did you just say?”
Michaela started speaking quickly.
“I didn’t know it would happen. Mom said it was just to make you sick enough that you wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. She said you would end up in the hospital and everyone would understand that you were too unstable to handle the estate.”
My stomach dropped.
I felt Fred’s hand tighten around mine.
“Are you telling me Mom wanted me hospitalized?”
“I don’t know what she wanted!”
“Did she know the tart contained walnuts?”
Michaela started crying again.
“I didn’t think you would actually eat it!”
I looked at Fred.
He had gone completely pale.
I took a deep breath.
“Michaela, where are my emergency injectors?”
She didn’t answer.
“Where are they?”
“I gave them to Mom.”
My eyes closed.
“Where is Mom?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where did you give them to her?”
“At her house.”
I looked at Fred.
He was already reaching for his keys.
Then Michaela said something that stopped us both.
“Christy, you need to listen to me.”
“What?”
“Mom knows you went to Gregory’s office.”
I felt my blood run cold.
“How?”
“Because she called him yesterday.”
I stared at the phone.
“Why would she call him?”
“She wanted to know whether the Friday meeting was still happening.”
“And what did he say?”
Michaela’s voice dropped.
“He told her you were coming.”
I slowly looked toward Fred.
Neither of us spoke.
Then Michaela whispered:
“Christy, please don’t go on Friday.”
“Why?”
“Because Mom isn’t planning to give you the money.”
I tightened my grip on the phone.
“What is she planning?”
My sister began to cry again.
And then she said the words that changed everything.
“She’s bringing the original document.”
“What document?”
“The one Grandma signed before she died.”
I frowned.
“Grandma signed something?”
“Yes.”
“What was it?”
Michaela hesitated.
Then she whispered:
“It wasn’t a document giving you the inheritance, Christy.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Then what was it?”
My sister took a shaky breath.
“Grandma had changed everything three weeks before she died.”
I sat completely still.
“What do you mean?”
“She changed the trust. She changed the property arrangements. She changed who was supposed to control the money.”
I looked at Fred.
He mouthed the words, What is she saying?
I didn’t know.
Then Michaela continued.
“Mom found out about it after Grandma passed away. That’s why she was so desperate.”
“Why?”
“Because Grandma didn’t just leave you the money.”
I could barely speak.
“Then what else did she leave me?”
Michaela lowered her voice.
“She left you something that Mom has been trying to get back for almost two years.”
“What?”
For several seconds, I heard nothing but her breathing.
Then she said:
“Grandma left you the original deed to Willow Creek.”
I frowned.
“The deed?”
“Yes.”
“Why would that matter?”
Michaela began crying again.
“Because the cottage isn’t worth two million dollars, Christy.”
I stared at the wall.
“What are you talking about?”
She whispered:
“There’s something underneath the property. Something Grandma never told us about.”
My mouth went dry.
“What?”
“An underground water reserve and mineral rights. A development company has been trying to purchase the entire area for years.”
I felt my pulse quicken.
“How much is it worth?”
Michaela didn’t answer immediately.
Then she said:
“Mom told me the last offer was nearly twelve million dollars.”
The room seemed to go silent.
Twelve million.
I looked at Fred.
He was staring at me with disbelief.
But before I could ask another question, Michaela spoke again.
“Christy, there’s something else. And this is the part Mom doesn’t know I found out.”
“What?”
“I found Grandma’s old notebook in the storage room.”
“What notebook?”
“The one she kept during the last six months of her life.”
I felt my hands go cold.
“What was in it?”
Michaela took a shaky breath.
“She wrote down everything Mom had been doing. Every payment. Every conversation. Every time she asked Grandma to change the trust.”
I waited.
Then Michaela whispered:
“And there was one entry about you.”
“What did it say?”
“I don’t remember the exact words, but Grandma wrote that she was afraid someone would eventually try to use your allergy against you.”
My eyes filled with tears.
Before I could respond, Michaela said something else.
“Christy, I have the notebook.”
I sat up.
“Where?”
“At my house.”
“Why didn’t you give it to Gregory?”
“Because Mom told me to destroy it.”
My stomach twisted.
“Did you?”
“No.”
I closed my eyes.
For the first time in years, my sister sounded genuinely frightened.
Then she said:
“Christy, I need to meet you somewhere. There are things I can’t tell you over the phone.”
Fred shook his head immediately.
I understood.
We couldn’t simply trust her.
Not after what had happened.
Not after the messages.
Not after the missing medication.
I spoke carefully.
“If you have evidence, give it directly to the investigator or Gregory.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because Mom knows I kept it.”
