There was a pause.
“Who is this?”
“It’s Mara Huitt.”
Silence.
Then I heard him inhale sharply.
“Mara?”
“Yes.”
“I haven’t heard from you in years.”
“I know.”
My voice cracked.
“I found the blue folder.”
Another silence.
This one was longer.
Finally, he said:
“Then you need to come see me.”
“Why?”
“Because there are things Leon didn’t want me to explain over the phone.”
My heart sank.
“Harold, what happened?”
He exhaled.
“I think someone has been trying to access the trust.”
I looked at the bank notification on my laptop.
“Someone tried this morning.”
His voice changed.
“Did you authorize anything?”
“No.”
“Did Toby?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then don’t ask him yet.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because if he doesn’t know, you could scare him.”
“And if he does?”
“Then you need to know why.”
I looked down at Leon’s letter.
“Harold…”
“Yes?”
“Did Leon know this would happen?”
Harold didn’t answer immediately.
Then he said:
“Your husband knew people could become very different when money was involved.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“He left me a note.”
“What did it say?”
I read it aloud.
“Don’t let them touch the blue folder.”
Harold went silent again.
Then he whispered:
“He knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That one day you might need it.”
I closed my eyes.
“Can you meet me today?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“My office.”
I wrote down the address.
Before hanging up, I asked one final question.
“Harold?”
“Yes?”
“Did Leon ever believe Toby was involved in this?”
“No.”
His answer came immediately.
“Your husband loved your son more than anything.”
I swallowed.
“Then why did he write about him?”
“Because Leon didn’t fear Toby.”
Harold paused.
“He feared who might influence Toby.”
I ended the call.
For several minutes, I sat completely still.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from Toby.
Mom, can I come over? We need to talk.
I stared at the screen.
Before I could reply, another message appeared.
Please don’t tell Paige yet.
I felt a chill move down my back.
Then a third message.
I found something last night.
I called him immediately.
He didn’t answer.
I called again.
Still nothing.
I sent:
Where are you?
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally, his response came.
I’m at Sherry’s house.
My stomach dropped.
I typed:
Why?
His answer came almost immediately.
Because I think she lied to me.
I stood up so quickly that the chair fell backward.
I grabbed my purse.
The blue folder went inside.
I locked the house.
And drove straight toward Harold’s office.
But halfway there, my phone rang.
It was Toby.
I answered.
“Toby?”
His voice was barely audible.
“Mom…”
“What happened?”
“I found the original guest list.”
My grip tightened around the steering wheel.
“What about it?”
“It’s not seventy-two people.”
“What?”
“The first list had twenty-four.”
“I know.”
“No, Mom.”
His breathing was uneven.
“It had twenty-four names…”
He stopped.
“Toby?”
“There were only twenty-three.”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
He whispered:
“Your name was number twenty-four.”
I couldn’t speak.
“And someone crossed it out.”
My heart stopped.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Toby, where are you?”
He didn’t answer.
“Toby!”
Then I heard something in the background.
A woman’s voice.
Sherry.
“What are you doing with that phone?”
The call ended.
I pulled my car to the side of the road.
My hands were shaking.
The blue folder sat on the passenger seat.
For twelve years, I had believed it contained the past.
Now I was beginning to understand.
It contained the reason my present was falling apart.
And somewhere inside Sherry’s house, my forty-year-old son had just discovered something someone had gone to great lengths to hide.
I started the car again.
This time, I wasn’t going to Harold’s office first.
I was going to Sherry’s house.
Because whatever was happening inside that house had already gone far beyond a birthday dinner.
And I was done waiting for someone else to tell me the truth.
