Chapter 5: The Woman Who Knew Too Much
The workshop door opened slowly.
Not with anger.
Not with force.
With confidence.
Like Vivian already knew she belonged there.
Like every room on the property still answered to her.
Ashley immediately stepped away from me.
That hurt more than I expected.
A few minutes ago, she had looked afraid.
Human.
Almost like the sister I had always wished she could have been.
But now, standing beside the door, she looked like Vivian’s daughter again.
Silent.
Watching.
Waiting.
Vivian entered the workshop and closed the door behind her.
Her eyes moved around the room.
The old wooden shelves.
The unfinished projects.
My father’s tools.
For a second, something almost like sadness crossed her face.
Then it disappeared.
“You always loved this place,” she said.
I stared at her.
“You don’t get to talk about what my father loved.””
Her expression tightened.
“Your father wasn’t only your father, Hannah.””
“He was my father.””
“And he was my husband.””
The bitterness in her voice surprised me.
Because beneath the cruelty, I heard something else.
Resentment.
Years of it.
I stepped closer.
“You brought up my mother.””
Vivian looked at Ashley.
“Go upstairs.””
Ashley didn’t move.
“Mom—”
“I said go upstairs.””
The command was sharp.
Ashley looked at me.
There was something in her eyes.
A warning.
Then she left.
The door closed.
Now it was just me and Vivian.
The woman who had thrown me out of my home.
The woman who knew something about my mother.
I folded my arms.
“Talk.””
Vivian walked toward my father’s workbench.
She picked up one of his unfinished wooden carvings.
“He was always making things.””
I didn’t answer.
“He believed anything broken could be fixed.””
She ran her finger along the wood.
“People too.””
I watched her carefully.
“Are you trying to make me feel sorry for you?””
She looked at me.
“No.””
A pause.
“I’m trying to make you understand him.””
I almost laughed.
“You don’t get to explain my father to me.””
“No?””
Her eyes narrowed.
“Because I knew a side of Daniel you never saw.””
I felt my jaw tighten.
“What side?””
“The side that lied.””
The word hit me.
My father?
Lied?
I shook my head.
“No.””
“You think your father was perfect.””
“I think he loved me.””
Vivian looked away.
“That’s what made him weak.””
My hands curled into fists.
“Careful.””
She ignored the warning.
“Daniel loved people so much that he refused to see what they were capable of.””
I stared at her.
“You’re talking about yourself.””
A small smile appeared.
“Maybe.””
The answer bothered me more than a denial would have.
“What happened to my mother?””
Vivian became quiet.
For the first time, she looked uncomfortable.
“Claire was complicated.””
My stomach dropped.
“Don’t.””
“What?””
“Don’t talk about her like she was the problem.””
Vivian sighed.
“Your mother wasn’t innocent.””
The words came out softly.
But they cut.
“My mother died when I was six.””
“Yes.””
“And you’re standing in my father’s workshop hours after his funeral telling me she wasn’t innocent?””
“I’m telling you that you don’t know everything.””
“Then tell me.””
Vivian looked toward the door.
Almost like she was checking whether someone was listening.
Then she lowered her voice.
“Your mother was hiding something.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
“Before the accident, Claire had secrets.””
“What secrets?””
Vivian shook her head.
“I don’t know all of them.””
“But you know some.””
“Yes.””
The honesty surprised me.
“What?””
She walked closer.
“Claire was afraid.””
My chest tightened.
“Afraid of what?””
“I don’t know.””
“You just said she had secrets.””
“I said she was hiding something.””
Her eyes met mine.
“And Daniel found out.””
I remembered Mr. Harrison’s words.
Your father discovered something about your mother’s death.
My heart started racing.
“What did he find?””
Vivian’s face changed.
Not anger.
Fear.
A real fear.
“I don’t know exactly.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because if I knew everything, Hannah…”
She stopped.
I waited.
“If I knew everything, I might have ended up like Claire.””
The room went silent.
Every hair on my arms stood up.
“What does that mean?””
Vivian looked at me.
For a moment, she seemed like she wanted to say something.
Something important.
Then her expression hardened.
“It means your father made choices that put everyone around him in danger.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“You still don’t understand.””
“No, I understand perfectly.””
I pointed toward the door.
“You spent the entire day trying to destroy me. You threw me out. You stole my father’s keys. You tried to sell his house before his will was even read.””
Her face changed.
“I didn’t steal anything.””
“You took his keys.””
“He gave them to me.””
“He trusted you.””
That landed.
For one second, Vivian looked wounded.
Then she recovered.
“You have no idea what Daniel and I went through.””
“Then explain.””
She looked at me.
“I loved him.””
The words surprised both of us.
Because they sounded genuine.
“I loved your father more than anyone.””
I didn’t respond.
“But loving someone doesn’t mean they don’t hurt you.””
The workshop became quiet.
“What did he do?””
Vivian looked down.
“He stopped trusting me.””
“Why?””
“Because someone convinced him I was his enemy.””
“Who?””
She looked at me.
“Your father.””
I frowned.
“That makes no sense.””
“It will tomorrow.””
The same phrase again.
Tomorrow.
Everyone seemed to know something I didn’t.
Everyone except me.
Vivian walked toward the door.
“Wait.””
She stopped.
“You came here to tell me about my mother.””
“Yes.””
“But you’re leaving?””
She looked over her shoulder.
“Because you won’t believe me yet.””
I stepped forward.
“Try me.””
Her face softened slightly.
Then she said:
“Your father wasn’t planning to leave you the house because he trusted you.””
I froze.
“What?””
“He was leaving you the house because he knew someone would try to take it from you.””
My heartbeat quickened.
“Who?””
Vivian opened the door.
But before she left, she looked back.
“Ask Thomas Harrison why your father recorded a second will.””
My blood went cold.
“A second will?””
She smiled faintly.
“The one you don’t know about.””
Then she walked away.
I stood frozen.
A second will.
Another secret.
Another piece of my father’s life that I had never known.
I immediately grabbed my phone and called Mr. Harrison.
He answered quickly.
“Hannah?””
“Did my father make a second will?””
Silence.
A terrible, revealing silence.
My stomach sank.
“Mr. Harrison?””
When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter.
“Who told you that?””
“Vivian.””
Another pause.
Then:
“Hannah, listen to me carefully.””
I gripped the phone.
“What?””
“You need to stop talking to Vivian alone.””
“Why?””
“Because she is trying to control what you believe before tomorrow.””
“Is there a second will?””
The silence returned.
But this time, it confirmed everything.
“Mr. Harrison.””
Finally, he answered.
“Yes.””
My breath caught.
“There was another document.””
“What was it?””
“I cannot explain over the phone.””
“Why?””
“Because your father left instructions.””
I closed my eyes.
“Again.””
“Yes.””
“What instructions?””
His voice became serious.
“The second document was not to be opened unless a specific condition happened.””
My heart pounded.
“What condition?””
He hesitated.
Then said:
“The condition was if Vivian attempted to remove you from the home before the estate reading.””
I couldn’t breathe.
The workshop suddenly felt smaller.
My father had predicted this.
Not vaguely.
Not as a possibility.
Exactly.
He knew Vivian would throw me out.
He knew she would try to erase me.
He had prepared for it.
“Mr. Harrison…”
“Yes?””
“What is in that second will?””
His answer came slowly.
“Something your father believed you deserved to know.””
I waited.
But he didn’t continue.
“About what?””
A long pause.
Then:
“About who Vivian really is.””
The call ended.
I lowered my phone.
Outside, the house stood silent.
But now I understood something.
My father hadn’t just left me an inheritance.
He had left me a warning.
And tomorrow morning, when that second will was opened, someone’s entire world was about to fall apart.
May you like
I just didn’t know yet whether it would be Vivian’s…
or mine.
