Chapter 7: The Will Hidden Behind a Wedding Photograph
The wedding album was exactly where my mother said it would be.
On the bottom shelf of the cabinet in her bedroom, beneath a collection of old photo frames and several boxes of Christmas decorations.
It was covered in dust.
The leather binding had begun to crack, and the gold lettering on the front had faded.
*Richard and Eleanor — June 1982.*
My mother stood behind me while I lifted it from the shelf.
“I haven't opened that in years,” she whispered.
“Why did Dad hide a will inside it?””
She shook her head.
“He didn't tell me. He only said that if anything happened to him, I should keep the album somewhere safe.””
I opened the cover.
The first photograph showed my parents standing outside a church.
My father was young, handsome, and smiling in the way I remembered from my childhood.
My mother wore a white lace dress and held a bouquet of lilies.
I turned the pages slowly.
Their honeymoon.
Their first apartment.
My father's first business office.
Then photographs of me as a baby.
My first birthday.
My first day of school.
And finally, Stephanie's birth announcement.
I stopped.
There was a small envelope tucked behind the photograph.
My father's handwriting was visible across the front.
For Olivia. If Charles comes looking for what he believes belongs to him.
My fingers trembled.
I removed the envelope.
Inside was a document folded into thirds.
It was a second version of my father's will.
Margaret arrived twenty minutes later with James Porter.
She examined the document without touching the signature.
“This appears to be an original.””
“What does it say?””
“Let me read it first.””
She placed it carefully on the dining table and began reviewing the pages.
My mother sat beside me.
Stephanie stood near the kitchen doorway, looking as though she wanted to disappear.
After several minutes, Margaret finally spoke.
“Your father created this document eleven months before his death.””
“Is it valid?”” I asked.
“It appears to have been properly executed, but we'll need to verify the witnesses and compare it with the probate records.””
She turned another page.
Then her expression changed.
“What?”” I asked.
She looked at me.
“Your father amended the beneficiary provisions.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Meaning?””
“Under the original structure, you were the sole controlling beneficiary of the Wilson Legacy Trust. However, this document establishes a separate protective provision for Stephanie.””
Stephanie lifted her head.
“For me?””
Margaret nodded.
“Your father created a financial reserve in your name, separate from the company's controlling assets.””
Stephanie looked confused.
“How much?””
Margaret read the figure.
Stephanie covered her mouth.
It was a substantial amount.
Not enough to control the company, but enough to provide a comfortable life without depending on Nathan or Charles.
I looked at her.
“Dad left you money?””
Margaret continued reading.
“He also included a condition.””
Stephanie's expression tightened.
“What condition?””
Margaret turned the document toward us.
The provision stated that Stephanie's reserve would remain protected as long as she did not knowingly participate in any attempt to transfer or conceal the company's assets.
Stephanie sank into a chair.
“Oh, my God.””
I looked at her.
“Did you know about this?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
My mother began crying.
“Richard wanted both of you protected.””
I stared at the will.
For years, I had believed my father had favored me.
That he had trusted me more.
That he had deliberately excluded Stephanie because of her behavior.
But he had done something different.
He had protected her without giving her the power to hurt anyone.
Margaret continued.
“There's another clause.””
She read slowly.
If any person attempts to obtain control of the trust through marriage, coercion, fraud, or the concealment of material family relationships, the trustee shall immediately suspend all discretionary transfers and initiate an independent review.
I looked at James.
“Does that mean Nathan cannot access anything?””
“It means any attempt to obtain control through the methods described could trigger serious legal consequences.””
Margaret turned the final page.
Then she stopped.
“There's a handwritten note.””
She read it silently.
Her face became unusually serious.
“What does it say?”” I asked.
Margaret looked at my mother.
“Eleanor, did Richard ever mention a meeting with Charles Cole on the night before his death?””
Mom nodded.
“Yes.””
“Did he tell you what was discussed?””
“No.””
Margaret looked back at the document.
“Your husband left instructions that this note should only be read if Charles attempted to challenge the trust.””
She handed it to me.
I recognized my father's handwriting immediately.
Olivia,
If this document has reached you, then Charles has finally made his move.
There is one person who can prove what happened to the original company records. I have protected that person for years because I believed the truth would destroy both families.
Do not confront Nathan until you have spoken to David Mercer.
And do not assume that Stephanie was the only person who betrayed us.
I read the final sentence again.
My eyes moved toward Stephanie.
She had read it too.
“Who else?”” she whispered.
Nobody answered.
David Mercer had been waiting in Margaret's office.
We called him immediately.
He arrived less than an hour later.
When he saw the second will, he sat down heavily.
“Richard knew.””
“Knew what?”” I asked.
David rubbed his forehead.
“That the original company records had been altered.””
“By whom?””
He looked toward Stephanie.
Then toward my mother.
Finally, his eyes settled on me.
“Your father's personal assistant.””
I frowned.
“Who was that?””
“Linda Brooks.””
The name meant nothing to me.
“Where is she now?””
David looked uncomfortable.
“She disappeared shortly after Richard's death.””
Margaret opened her notebook.
“Did she have access to the office safe?””
“Yes.””
“Could she have removed documents?””
David nodded.
“Absolutely.””
I leaned forward.
“Why would she help Charles?””
David hesitated.
“Because she was having an affair with him.””
The room fell silent.
My mother stared at him.
“What?””
David lowered his eyes.
“I'm sorry, Eleanor.””
I felt another piece of the puzzle fall into place.
Charles had a connection to my father.
To Stephanie.
To Nathan.
And now to Linda.
“Was Nathan involved with her too?”” I asked.
David didn't answer.
That silence told me enough.
Margaret immediately asked him to explain.
David took a deep breath.
“About a year before Richard died, he discovered that Linda had been copying confidential company files. He confronted her. She claimed she was helping Charles with a legitimate acquisition.””
“And Dad believed her?””
“No. He fired her.””
“Then why was she still there?””
“Because she had already copied the documents.””
David looked at the second will.
“Richard suspected that someone had been using the company records to construct a fraudulent ownership claim.””
I felt cold.
“Could that be the reason Nathan proposed to me?””
David nodded.
“Your father believed so.””
I looked at Stephanie.
“And the reason he married her?””
David's expression hardened.
“Possibly.””
Stephanie stood.
“I need to go.””
I turned toward her.
“Where?””
She looked at me.
“I need to find out whether Nathan is involved with Linda.””
“Why?””
“Because I remember her.””
She took her phone from her bag.
“She used to come to the mansion.””
I stared.
“What?””
“Several times a month. Nathan said she was an old family friend.””
David stood.
“What did she look like?””
Stephanie described her.
David closed his eyes.
“That's her.””
Stephanie began scrolling through her photographs.
Then she stopped.
“Here.””
She showed us a picture taken at Nathan's birthday party four years earlier.
Nathan stood beside a blonde woman in a silver dress.
The woman was holding a champagne glass.
I recognized her from the name David had given us.
Linda Brooks.
But it was not the photograph itself that frightened me.
It was the date.
The party had taken place three months after Nathan and Stephanie's wedding.
And in the background, standing beside the staircase, was my mother.
Mom leaned closer.
“That's not possible.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
She pointed toward the woman beside Nathan.
“That's Patricia.””
Stephanie's face drained.
“My biological mother?””
Mom nodded.
But Patricia had supposedly died when Stephanie was an infant.
I looked back at the photograph.
The woman was clearly older than the photographs of Patricia that my mother had shown us.
But the resemblance was unmistakable.
Stephanie whispered, “How can she be alive?””
My mother stared at the picture.
Then she said something that made the entire room freeze.
“Because Patricia wasn't the woman who died in that accident.””
Margaret immediately reached for the photograph.
“Eleanor, are you certain?””
Mom nodded slowly.
“I saw the woman at the funeral. I saw the casket. But I never saw her face.””
Stephanie began shaking.
“Who died, then?””
Mom looked at her.
“I don't know.””
I stared at the photograph.
Six years earlier, I had thought my sister had stolen my fiancé.
Now I was beginning to understand that our family had been living inside a lie long before Nathan entered our lives.
And the woman everyone believed was dead had apparently been standing inside his mansion for years.
My phone rang.
An unknown number.
I answered.
A woman's voice spoke.
“Olivia Wilson?””
“Yes.””
“My name is Linda Brooks.””
I looked at David.
He immediately motioned for me to put the call on speaker.
Linda continued.
“I know you've found the second will.””
I didn't answer.
She gave a nervous laugh.
“Your father always knew you would.””
“What do you want?””
“I want to meet you.””
“Why?””
“Because I have the original documents. And because your sister is in more danger than she realizes.””
Stephanie stepped closer.
I asked the question burning inside me.
“Is Patricia alive?””
Linda went silent.
Then she whispered:
“Yes.””
Stephanie covered her mouth.
I tightened my grip on the phone.
“Where is she?””
Linda answered.
“She's been living under another name for years.””
“Why?””
“Because Charles Cole paid her to disappear.””
I stared at the photograph.
Then Linda added:
“But before I tell you where she is, you need to know something about Nathan.””
“What?””
“He didn't choose Stephanie because he wanted the company.””
My heart pounded.
“Then why?””
Linda's voice became almost inaudible.
“Because Charles told him Stephanie was his biological daughter.””
The call disconnected.
May you like
Stephanie dropped into the nearest chair.
And suddenly, the marriage she had spent six years defending had become something far more horrifying than either of us had imagined.
