Chapter 8: The Lawyer Who Knew Everything
Benjamin answered the call on speaker.
“Hello?””
A man's voice emerged.
Older.
Calm.
Almost polite.
“Benjamin. I was wondering when you'd decide to bring those documents home.””
Walter immediately recognized the voice.
“Thomas?””
There was a brief pause.
“Walter Carter.””
Walter stepped closer.
“Where have you been?””
“Keeping my distance.””
“From what?””
“From a family that never understood the consequences of digging up the past.””
Marcus took the phone from Benjamin.
“You're Thomas Whitaker?””
“Yes.””
“My mother trusted you.””
“I know.””
“You handled her estate.””
“I did.””
“Then why are you involved in these altered records?””
Thomas sighed.
“Marcus, I don't think you understand what you're holding.””
“Then explain it.””
“I would rather meet in person.””
Walter shook his head.
“No. You've had twenty-six years to explain yourself.””
Thomas remained quiet.
Then he said:
“Very well. I will come to the house.””
Marcus looked at Benjamin.
“Don't.””
Thomas continued.
“I'll bring the original trust ledger.””
The call ended.
Marcus lowered the phone.
Daniel frowned.
“He still has the ledger?””
Benjamin nodded.
“Apparently.””
Walter walked back into the living room.
“I want that man here.””
Marcus followed.
“Dad, we should call an attorney.””
“I don't care what we should do. I want answers.””
“You're not thinking clearly.””
Walter turned.
“I have just discovered that my wife had two children I never knew about. One of them spent his entire life searching for me. The other grew up in my house without knowing she was my daughter.””
He pointed toward the window.
“And that man helped hide it.””
His voice broke.
“I am entitled to know why.””
Renee sat on the sofa.
She looked smaller than Marcus had ever seen her.
Benjamin approached her.
“Renee, I need to ask you something.””
She looked up.
“What?””
“Did Rebecca ever tell you why she adopted me?””
Renee nodded.
“She said Evelyn couldn't raise you.””
Benjamin shook his head.
“That's not what I asked.””
Renee looked down.
“She said you were sick.””
Benjamin nodded.
“I was born with a heart defect. I needed surgery.””
Walter closed his eyes.
Benjamin continued.
“Rebecca and her husband had money. They could afford the treatment. Evelyn believed they could give me a better chance.””
Walter sat down.
“She could have told me.””
Benjamin's voice softened.
“She thought you would blame yourself.””
“Why?””
“Because she believed your family history had caused my condition.””
Walter looked confused.
“What family history?””
Benjamin opened the hospital record.
“The doctors had found a hereditary heart condition. Evelyn was afraid you would think she had hidden it from you.””
Walter shook his head.
“I would have helped.””
Benjamin nodded.
“I know that now.””
Maya sat beside Buddy on the rug.
She was gently brushing his fur with her fingers.
“Grandpa?””
Walter turned.
“Yes, baby?””
“Does Uncle Benjamin have a heart problem too?””
Benjamin smiled.
“I had surgery when I was little. I'm doing much better now.””
“Are you going to die?””
The question silenced the room.
Benjamin crouched beside her.
“No, sweetheart. I'm taking care of myself.””
Maya considered that.
“Okay. Because I don't want another person to disappear.””
Benjamin's eyes filled.
He hugged her.
Marcus watched the moment.
He had spent the morning thinking his family was falling apart.
Now he was beginning to understand that some of it had never been whole.
An hour later, a black sedan pulled into the driveway.
Thomas Whitaker stepped out.
He was in his seventies, with silver hair, a dark suit, and a leather briefcase.
He walked into the living room as if he had been there a hundred times.
“Walter.””
Walter didn't offer his hand.
“Sit down.””
Thomas placed the briefcase on the coffee table.
“I see you've found the documents.””
Marcus stood beside Benjamin.
“You altered my mother's records.””
Thomas removed his glasses.
“I corrected certain inconsistencies.””
“That's a convenient word.””
Thomas opened his briefcase.
“Your mother was very specific about her wishes. Unfortunately, her wishes changed several times.””
Walter leaned forward.
“Stop speaking in riddles.””
Thomas took out a thick ledger.
“Evelyn created the trust after the discovery of the missing funds.””
Marcus nodded.
“We know.””
“What you don't know is that the trust was designed to protect three beneficiaries.””
Benjamin placed the documents beside him.
“Me, Renee, and Marcus.””
Thomas looked at him.
“Correct.””
Renee looked up.
“And Maya?””
Thomas paused.
“She was added later.””
Walter frowned.
“What?””
Thomas opened the ledger.
“Evelyn amended the trust two years before her death. She placed Maya's future interests under a separate provision.””
Marcus looked at him.
“So the house was supposed to go to all of us?””
“Not equally.””
Thomas turned the ledger.
He pointed to three percentages.
Marcus read them.
Benjamin: forty percent.
Renee: thirty percent.
Marcus: thirty percent.
Below that was another clause.
Maya would receive the property itself when she turned twenty-five, provided the three adult beneficiaries maintained the trust and did not sell or transfer the house before then.
Walter stared.
“Evelyn wanted Maya to have the house.””
Thomas nodded.
“She wanted the property to remain available to the next generation.””
Renee stood.
“Then why did you tell me there was nothing I could claim?””
Thomas looked at her.
“Because you weren't listed as a beneficiary in the amended copy I received.””
Benjamin frowned.
“Who removed her?””
Thomas closed the ledger.
“Rebecca.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“She couldn't do that.””
“Not without proper authorization,” Thomas replied.
Walter stared at him.
“And you allowed it?””
Thomas looked down.
“I made a decision I believed would prevent a lengthy legal dispute.””
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“You helped someone erase my father's children from their own mother's estate.””
Thomas didn't respond.
Benjamin took the ledger.
“Where's the original?””
Thomas looked at him.
“This is the original.””
Benjamin turned the pages.
Then he stopped.
“No, it isn't.””
Thomas's expression changed.
Benjamin pointed to a torn section.
“Page seventeen is missing.””
Thomas closed the briefcase.
“That page was damaged.””
Benjamin shook his head.
“That's impossible.””
He reached into his own envelope.
Then he pulled out a photograph.
It showed the missing page.
At the bottom was Evelyn's signature.
And beside it was a handwritten instruction.
*If Walter dies before the beneficiaries are identified, the property must be transferred immediately to the person who holds the original family seal.*
Walter frowned.
“Family seal?””
Daniel looked toward the brass key.
“That's what the key is for.””
Thomas suddenly stood.
“I think this meeting should end.””
Marcus stepped in front of him.
“Not yet.””
Thomas looked toward the door.
“Move.””
“No.””
Benjamin placed the photograph on the table.
“Tell us what the family seal is.””
Thomas stared at it.
Then he looked at Walter.
“Evelyn never told you?””
Walter shook his head.
Thomas sighed.
“It's a small silver medallion. Your grandfather had it made when the first property was purchased. It was used to authenticate the original deeds.””
Daniel looked at the brass key.
“Where is it?””
Thomas hesitated.
“Storage unit 214.””
Marcus turned.
“Then why did you come here with the ledger?””
Thomas's face tightened.
“Because I wanted to know whether you had found the medallion.””
Benjamin leaned forward.
“Why?””
Thomas closed his briefcase.
“Because without it, the original deed cannot be authenticated.””
Walter stared.
“Are you telling me the house could be taken away?””
Thomas didn't answer.
But his silence was enough.
Renee suddenly walked toward the coffee table.
“Wait.””
She picked up the photograph of Evelyn and studied the handwritten note.
Then she looked at Benjamin.
“Did your mother tell you anything about the medallion?””
Benjamin shook his head.
“No.””
Renee turned toward Walter.
“Evelyn gave me something before she died.””
Walter stared.
“What?””
Renee reached into her handbag.
She removed a small velvet pouch.
Inside was a silver medallion.
Marcus recognized the engraved initials.
E.C.
Evelyn Carter.
Thomas's face went pale.
“Where did you get that?””
Renee held it tightly.
“My mother gave it to me.””
Walter stepped closer.
“Rebecca?””
Renee nodded.
“She told me to keep it hidden until the day someone came asking about the trust.””
Benjamin stared at her.
“Then why didn't you give it to me?””
Renee looked at the medallion.
“Because Rebecca told me that if Benjamin ever found out the truth, he would lose everything.””
Thomas suddenly reached for it.
Benjamin grabbed his wrist.
“Don't touch her.””
Thomas pulled back.
For the first time, the old attorney looked genuinely frightened.
Then Daniel noticed something.
The medallion had a small inscription on its reverse.
He turned it toward the light.
There were two lines.
The first read:
*THE HOUSE REMEMBERS.*
The second was a date.
A date that had not yet happened.
Marcus frowned.
“What is that?””
Thomas looked at the inscription.
Then he whispered:
“That's the date Evelyn scheduled the final transfer.””
Walter checked his watch.
Then he looked at the calendar.
May you like
His face drained of color.
The date was tomorrow.
