Chapter 3 - THE SAFE BEHIND THE PAINTING
The study had always been my favorite room.
My grandmother used to sit beside the fireplace and read there when I was a child.
She told me the room contained “boring old papers.”
Now I wondered how many lies adults had told me while I was growing up.
Nathan walked toward a large oil painting above the fireplace.
It showed my grandmother standing beside the house.
I remembered touching that painting as a child.
Nathan pressed one corner of the frame.
Nothing happened.
He pressed another.
A small click sounded.
The painting moved forward.
Behind it was a steel safe.
Marissa whispered, “Oh my God.”
Colin stepped closer.
Nathan immediately blocked him.
“No one touches anything.”
I stared at the keypad.
“What’s the code?”
Nathan looked at me.
“Your birthday.”
I entered it.
The safe opened.
Inside were three folders, a flash drive, several photographs, and a small velvet box.
I reached for the box.
Nathan stopped me.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because your grandmother wanted you to read the letter first.”
He handed me another envelope.
My name was written in my grandmother's handwriting.
I opened it.
Nora,
If your mother is standing in this house when you read this, do not believe anything she tells you until you see the ledger.
My hands began shaking.
There are people who will tell you your grandfather ruined this family.
He did not.
He discovered that his own brother was stealing from the company.
Your mother became involved because she believed she would inherit everything.
I looked toward Diane.
She was staring at the floor.
She didn't know what her choices would eventually cost.
But I did.
The next line made me stop breathing.
The person who helped your mother was not her brother.
It was someone else.
Someone I knew.
Someone I had trusted.
I turned toward Nathan.
“You knew?”
He nodded.
“Who?”
Before he could answer, my phone vibrated.
A text message appeared.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE HOUSE.
A second message arrived.
NOW YOU'LL LEARN WHY YOUR GRANDMOTHER WAS AFRAID.
I showed Nathan.
His expression changed instantly.
“Call the police.”
Diane started crying.
“No.”
Everyone turned toward her.
She shook her head.
“You don't understand.”
“What don't we understand?”
Diane looked at me.
“They'll kill us.”
Silence.
Nathan stepped closer.
“Who?”
My mother hesitated.
Then she whispered:
“The man your grandmother thought was dead.”
Raymond's face hardened.
“That's impossible.”
Diane looked at him.
“No.”
She pointed toward the flash drive.
“He's alive.”
I stared at the tiny black device inside the safe.
“Who is he?”
Diane's lips trembled.
“Your grandfather's business partner.”
Nathan went pale.
“That man died thirty years ago.”
My mother shook her head.
“He didn't die.”
She looked directly at me.
“He disappeared.”
Then the lights in the house went out.
My baby began crying.
May you like
And from somewhere deep inside the walls came the unmistakable sound of a door unlocking.
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