Chapter 4 - THE LOCKED DRAWER
The police searched the desk that afternoon.
I wasn’t there.
I was still at the hospital when they opened it.
But I knew the moment they found something because Grandpa’s phone rang and his entire expression changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then looked at Dad.
“They need you at the house.”
Dad’s face tightened.
“What did they find?”
Grandpa handed him the phone.
I could hear only Dad’s side.
“No.”
Pause.
“What documents?”
Another pause.
“No, I never signed that.”
He looked at me.
Then at Grandpa.
“When?”
His face went completely pale.
“I’m coming.”
After the call ended, I sat up.
“What happened?”
Dad looked as though someone had punched him.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
That sentence made panic shoot through me.
Grandpa saw it instantly.
“Daniel.”
Dad stopped.
Grandpa pointed gently toward me.
“No more protecting her with ignorance.”
Dad closed his eyes.
Then he sat down.
“The police found paperwork.”
“What kind?”
“Court forms.”
My stomach twisted.
“What court forms?”
He hesitated.
“Documents saying you were having serious behavioral problems.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“There are statements claiming you ran away twice.”
“I never ran away.”
“I know.”
“They say you attacked Miranda.”
“I never—”
“I know.”
My voice rose anyway.
“I never touched her!”
Dad wrapped his arms around me.
“I know.”
Grandpa remained completely still.
“What else?”
Dad looked at him.
“Temporary guardianship documents.”
The room became silent.
Guardianship.
I understood the word.
I didn’t understand why Miranda had it.
“She wanted to become my guardian?”
Dad rubbed his forehead.
“It looks like she was preparing paperwork that would give her more control over medical and school decisions.”
“But you’re my dad.”
“Yes.”
“Why would she need that?”
Nobody answered.
That scared me.
Dad left for the house while Grandpa stayed.
Two hours later, he returned carrying a folder.
He looked older.
Not physically.
Just tired in a way I had never seen before.
He sat down.
“She forged my signature.”
Grandpa’s jaw tightened.
“On all of it?”
“Most.”
“Most?”
Dad opened the folder.
“There’s one signature that might actually be mine.”
I looked at him.
“How?”
“She gave me a stack of documents three months ago. Said they were insurance forms from work.”
Grandpa cursed under his breath.
Dad looked ashamed.
“I signed electronically.”
“What did those forms really say?”
“One was a limited authorization allowing Miranda to communicate with your school and doctors.”
That explained how she kept changing stories before anyone asked me questions.
But Grandpa kept reading.
Then he stopped.
“What’s this date?”
Dad looked.
“November third.”
Grandpa turned to me.
“That’s your birthday.”
My sixteenth birthday.
Miranda had taken me to dinner that night.
Bought me earrings.
Called me her beautiful girl in front of Dad.
The next morning, she slammed me into the pantry door because I hadn’t loaded the dishwasher correctly.
Grandpa continued reading.
Then his eyes narrowed.
“Daniel, why does this mention eighteen?”
Dad took the page.
His confusion became alarm.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
“What?”
He looked at Grandpa.
Grandpa did not answer.
I suddenly realized he knew something.
“Grandpa?”
His shoulders lowered.
“There’s something your father and I were planning to tell you later.”
My heart started pounding.
“Tell me now.”
Dad stared at him.
“Dad…”
“She deserves the truth.”
Grandpa looked at me.
“Your mother left you money.”
My biological mother.
The woman who died when I was eight.
“How much?”
“That isn’t the important part.”
“It is if Miranda knows.”
Grandpa’s silence answered before his mouth did.
The trust became mine when I turned eighteen.
Until then, Dad and Grandpa were its co-trustees.
Miranda had no legal access.
None.
Then Grandpa showed us the final page police found in her desk.
It was a handwritten note.
May you like
Only one sentence.
GET ELIAS REMOVED BEFORE SHE TURNS SEVENTEEN.
