Chapter 5: The Secret Inside the Blue Envelope
The man approaching the house was wearing a dark suit.
He was tall, perhaps in his early sixties, with a carefully trimmed beard and a leather folder tucked beneath his arm.
Claire recognized him immediately.
Her face lost its color.
“Graham?””
Arthur stepped backward.
“No.””
Rene looked between them.
“Who is he?””
Claire didn't answer.
The man stopped at the garden gate.
“Good morning, everyone.””
Arthur's voice was sharp.
“You have no business being here.””
Graham ignored him.
He looked directly at Rene.
“You must be the son.””
“Who are you?””
“My name is Graham Ellis. I was your mother's solicitor.””
Rene frowned.
“My mother had a solicitor. His name was Peter Collins.””
Graham nodded.
“Peter handled the estate after her death. I handled her private affairs before that.””
“Then why have I never heard of you?””
“Because your father insisted that you shouldn't.””
Arthur stepped forward.
“Leave.””
Graham opened his folder.
“I'm afraid I can't.””
He removed a sealed document and held it up.
“Your mother left instructions. They specifically state that this document must be delivered to Rene Morgan in the presence of Arthur Morgan and Claire Bennett.””
Rene glanced at the blue envelope in his hand.
“Is this the same thing?””
“No. That's a personal letter. This is a legal statement.””
Vanessa moved closer.
“What legal statement?””
Graham looked at her.
“Are you Vanessa Morgan?””
“Yes.””
“Then I suggest you listen carefully.””
Arthur shook his head.
“This is a family matter.””
Graham's expression remained calm.
“It stopped being a private family matter when someone began moving property and animals using forged authorizations.””
Rene's eyes narrowed.
“Property?””
Graham looked down at his folder.
“Your mother's property, specifically.””
Arthur closed his eyes.
Rene turned toward him.
“Dad, what did you do?””
Arthur didn't respond.
Lily was standing beside Buddy, holding his leash.
She looked up at Rene.
“Daddy, can I take Buddy upstairs?””
Rene nodded.
“Stay with Grandpa.””
Arthur crouched beside her.
“Come on, sweetheart.””
As Arthur led Lily inside, Graham watched them disappear down the hallway.
Then he spoke.
“Your mother believed that one day you would ask the right questions.””
Rene looked at the document.
“Then let's start.””
They moved into the living room.
Vanessa sat near the window. Claire remained standing beside the coffee table, while Graham placed his leather folder on the table.
Rene put the blue envelope beside it.
“Tell me what happened.””
Graham removed a pair of reading glasses.
“Six years ago, your mother became concerned about a series of financial transactions connected to her property.””
Rene frowned.
“What transactions?””
“Several withdrawals from an account she maintained independently of the family business. There were also changes to the ownership records of two properties.””
Arthur interrupted.
“Those matters were settled.””
Graham turned toward him.
“Not legally.””
Arthur's jaw tightened.
“Be careful.””
“I am being careful. That's why I brought the original documents.””
Rene leaned forward.
“Who made the withdrawals?””
Graham looked at Arthur.
“Your father.””
The silence was immediate.
Rene stared.
“Dad?””
Arthur looked toward the window.
“I was managing the household finances.””
“That's not what I asked.””
Graham continued.
“Your mother had authorized Arthur to manage certain accounts during her illness. But several transactions went beyond that authorization.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“This is absurd.””
Graham looked at her.
“You were not part of the family at the time.””
“I know what Arthur told me.””
“Then you may have been told an incomplete version.””
Rene looked at his father.
“How much money?””
Arthur rubbed his face.
“I don't remember.””
Graham opened the folder.
“Approximately two hundred and eighty thousand dollars.””
Rene stood.
“What?””
Arthur looked up.
“I was going to put it back.””
“When?””
“Before your mother found out.””
Rene stared at him.
“She did find out, didn't she?””
Arthur didn't answer.
Claire finally spoke.
“She found the bank statements in the study.””
Rene turned.
“You were there?””
Claire nodded.
“I was helping her organize medical paperwork. She found the transactions that afternoon.””
“What happened?””
Claire looked at Arthur.
“He begged her not to tell you.””
Arthur's eyes filled with tears.
“I made a mistake.””
Claire's voice hardened.
“It wasn't one mistake.””
She described the evening in detail.
His mother had been sitting at the dining-room table, wearing a pale cardigan, with a stack of bank statements spread in front of her.
Arthur had entered the room carrying a cup of tea.
She had asked him about the missing money.
He had told her the withdrawals were temporary.
She had asked him to return everything.
He had promised he would.
But when she asked him to sign a written acknowledgment, he refused.
Instead, he had taken the papers and walked out.
Rene listened without moving.
“What happened after that?””
Claire looked down.
“Your mother called me the following morning.””
“And?””
“She asked me to keep a copy of everything.””
Arthur suddenly stood.
“She was confused. Her medication was affecting her memory.””
Graham calmly opened another document.
“Her doctor confirmed that she was mentally competent when she signed the statement.””
Arthur fell silent.
Rene turned toward his father.
“You told me Mom was confused.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
Arthur looked at him.
“From losing your family.””
Rene laughed bitterly.
“You were stealing from her, Dad. What family were you protecting?””
Arthur flinched.
Graham placed a final document on the table.
“This is the part that concerns Buddy.””
Rene sat down again.
“What does a dog have to do with money?””
Graham opened the document.
“Your mother discovered that Buddy had been present during the argument on the night she became seriously ill.””
Arthur's face changed.
Claire nodded.
“He was in the study.””
Rene remembered his mother's dog.
He remembered the golden puppy sleeping beside her armchair.
But why would that matter?
Graham explained.
“Your mother believed that Arthur had removed something from her study after the argument. She suspected Buddy had witnessed where it was taken.””
Rene frowned.
“A dog can't testify.””
“Of course not. But your mother had trained Buddy to respond to a specific command.””
Claire reached into her handbag and removed an old photograph.
It showed Rene's mother sitting in the garden with Buddy as a puppy.
On the back was a handwritten note.
*He knows where I hid it.*
Rene stared.
“Where did she hide what?””
Claire looked at Arthur.
“That's what your father has spent six years trying to find.””
Arthur slammed his hand on the table.
“Enough!””
Graham didn't move.
“Your mother's original will, along with the complete financial records, disappeared from the study that night.””
Rene looked at his father.
“You took them?””
Arthur's eyes filled with tears.
“I didn't destroy anything.””
“Where are they?””
“I don't know.””
Graham removed a photograph from his folder.
It showed Buddy sitting beside an old wooden cabinet in Rene's mother's study.
The cabinet had a narrow bottom drawer with a small brass lock.
Rene recognized it immediately.
It had been removed from the house shortly after his mother's death.
“Where is that cabinet now?””
Claire answered.
“Still in storage.””
“Where?””
“At your father's old warehouse.””
Rene turned sharply.
“You kept it?””
Arthur looked down.
“I couldn't throw it away.””
Rene stood.
“Then we're going there.””
Graham raised one hand.
“Not yet.””
Rene glared at him.
“Why?””
“Because your mother left one more instruction.””
He turned the legal statement over.
There was a second page.
Graham read aloud.
“'If Rene ever discovers what happened, he must first hear the complete truth from Arthur. No document will mean anything until his father admits what he did after the argument.''”
Rene turned toward Arthur.
“Then tell me.””
Arthur's lips trembled.
He looked at Claire.
Then at Graham.
Finally, he looked directly at his son.
“Your mother and I argued that night,” he said.
“About the money?””
“Yes.””
“What happened?””
Arthur swallowed.
“She threatened to change her will. She said she was leaving everything to you and Danielle.””
Rene frowned.
“Why would that matter?””
Arthur's voice dropped.
“Because she told me she knew Danielle had helped me move the money.””
Rene felt the room tilt.
“Danielle?””
Claire nodded slowly.
“Your sister discovered the withdrawals. She confronted your father and tried to help him return the money before your mother found out.””
Rene shook his head.
“Then why did Danielle disappear?””
Arthur began crying.
“Because I told her she had to leave.””
Rene stared.
“You forced her out?””
“I thought I was protecting her.””
“From what?””
Arthur looked at him.
“From the person who was coming to the house that night.””
A sudden knock sounded at the front door.
Everyone turned.
Rene walked into the hallway.
A woman stood outside holding a large brown package.
She handed it to him.
“Delivery for Rene Morgan.””
He signed without thinking.
Then he noticed the sender's name.
*DANIELLE MORGAN.*
He opened the package.
Inside was a small silver key, an old photograph, and a handwritten note.
He unfolded it.
*Rene,*
*I know what happened to Mom's missing documents. But the truth is worse than Dad told you.*
*Ask him why the hospital called the house twice that night.*
Rene slowly lowered the paper.
Arthur had gone completely pale.
Vanessa stood behind him.
“What does it say?””
Rene looked at his father.
“Dad?””
Arthur shook his head.
“Don't.””
Rene stepped closer.
“Why did the hospital call the house twice the night Mom died?””
Arthur's eyes filled with tears.
May you like
And then, for the first time in six years, he said the words Rene had never expected to hear.
“Because your mother wasn't supposed to die that night.””
