Chapter 8: Her Mother's Last Letter
Locker 317 sat behind a thick steel door in the basement of First National Bank.
David stood in front of it with Jasmine.
Jessica and Michael waited several feet behind them.
The bank manager inserted the key.
Then stopped.
“This key doesn't belong to the bank.””
David looked at him.
“It was found in my wife's attorney's office.””
The manager examined it.
Then his face changed.
“It does fit.””
He inserted it.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Inside was a small metal box.
Nothing else.
Jasmine stared.
“That's it?””
David nodded.
The manager stepped away.
“This was registered to your wife.””
David opened the box.
Inside were three envelopes.
One was labeled *DAVID*.
One was labeled *JASMINE*.
The third had no name.
David picked up his envelope.
His hands were shaking.
He opened it.
Inside was a letter.
He read silently.
Jasmine watched his eyes move across the page.
Then tears appeared.
“Dad?””
He handed her the letter.
She read.
Her mother's handwriting.
*David,*
*If you're reading this, something went wrong.*
Jasmine's throat tightened.
She continued.
*I knew someone was trying to reach the trust. I didn't know who. I only knew that the person had access to our private records.*
She looked up.
“Mom knew.””
David nodded.
Jasmine continued.
*I created the trust because I didn't want Jasmine's future controlled by anyone else. Not even you.*
Her eyes filled with tears.
*The property is only part of it. The real value is in the investment account attached to the trust.*
She read the next paragraph.
Then stopped.
“Dad.””
“What?””
“She says Jessica didn't know about the trust.””
David looked at Jessica.
Jessica began crying.
“I told you.””
Jasmine continued reading.
*If Jessica tries to transfer the property, don't assume she is working alone. Someone may have convinced her that the transfer was necessary.*
Jasmine looked up.
Jessica whispered:
“I was manipulated.””
David didn't answer.
Jasmine returned to the letter.
Then her expression changed.
“There's a name.””
David stepped closer.
“What name?””
She read it aloud.
“Martin.””
Silence.
David looked stunned.
“No.””
The letter continued.
*Martin is not the person I trusted. He is the person I was afraid of.*
David stared at the page.
“But Martin has been my lawyer for twenty years.””
Jasmine shook her head.
“Mom knew.””
Michael stepped forward.
“Keep reading.””
Jasmine did.
*If Martin tells you the trust doesn't exist, believe this letter instead. If he says the account was closed, he is lying. If he says the property belongs to someone else, he is lying.*
Jasmine's breathing became uneven.
Then she reached the final paragraph.
*There is one person I trust completely. He doesn't know I left this letter.*
David's eyes narrowed.
“Who?””
Jasmine read the name.
Then looked at her father.
“It says Ethan.””
David went pale.
Jessica whispered, “I told you.””
Michael stared at the letter.
“Ethan was helping your mother?””
David shook his head.
“I don't understand.””
A bank employee entered the room.
“Mr. Harrison?””
David turned.
“Yes?””
“There is another item.””
The employee handed him a sealed envelope.
“This was added to the box yesterday.””
David frowned.
“Yesterday?””
“Yes.””
“By whom?””
The employee checked the record.
“A man named Ethan Carter.””
David opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
His wife stood beside Ethan.
On the back were four words:
*He knows where it is.*
Jasmine looked confused.
“Where what is?””
David turned the photograph over.
There was another line written beneath the first.
*Ask him about the house.*
David looked at Michael.
“What house?””
Michael's expression changed.
“The old house.””
David stared.
“My wife's childhood home?””
Michael nodded.
“She sold it years ago.””
“No,” Jessica whispered.
Everyone turned toward her.
Jessica looked terrified.
“She never sold it.””
David's heart began pounding.
“What?””
“She transferred it into the trust.””
Jasmine stared at her.
“Then why did we never know?””
“Because your mother wanted it hidden.””
David closed his eyes.
He remembered something.
A conversation from years ago.
His wife had once said, If anything happens to me, don't sell the old house.
He had thought it was nostalgia.
Nothing more.
David opened his eyes.
“Where is the house?””
Jessica shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Michael spoke quietly.
“I do.””
David turned.
Michael pulled out his phone.
“I found the address last night.””
He showed David the screen.
The location was only twenty minutes away.
Jasmine stared at it.
“Why would Mom hide a house?””
Michael looked at her.
“Because she wasn't hiding the house.””
He zoomed in.
A satellite image appeared.
At the back of the property was a separate building.
A small stone structure.
May you like
Michael whispered:
“She was hiding what was underneath it.””
