Chapter 3: The Hidden Folder
Mark barely slept that night.
Daisy was in the guest bedroom across the hall, sleeping beneath three blankets because she refused to be alone.
Victoria had been escorted out of the main house while the investigation continued.
She called twice.
Mark ignored her.
At 2:17 a.m., his phone buzzed again.
A text appeared.
*Victoria:* We need to talk before you ruin everything.
Mark stared at it.
Then another message came.
*Victoria:* Daniel was never supposed to come to the estate.
Mark’s blood ran cold.
He replied.
*Mark:* Why was he there?
The typing bubble appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
Finally:
*Victoria:* Because he knows something you don’t.
Mark stood.
He walked into the hallway and stopped outside Daisy’s door.
She was asleep.
He quietly went downstairs.
The security room was dark.
He turned on the monitors.
The footage from that afternoon was still open.
Mark rewound.
He watched Daniel again.
Daniel stood behind the garage, looking toward the pool.
Then he crouched beside the stone wall.
Mark zoomed in.
Daniel slipped the folder beneath a loose paving stone.
“What are you hiding?”” Mark whispered.
He grabbed a flashlight and went outside.
The night air was cold.
He crossed the lawn and reached the garage.
The stone was exactly where it appeared on the screen.
Mark lifted it.
The folder was there.
His hands shook as he opened it.
Inside were photocopies of property deeds.
Bank statements.
Old photographs.
And one document that made him stop breathing.
A marriage certificate.
Not his.
Victoria’s name appeared on it.
So did Daniel’s.
The date was eight years earlier.
Mark stared at the paper.
“No…”
Then he saw something else.
A second document.
A handwritten note.
*If Mark discovers the trust, everything is over.*
There were several signatures beneath it.
Victoria.
Daniel.
And Mark’s late father.
Mark felt the entire world tilt.
His father had died six years earlier.
How could he have signed something eight years after his own involvement?
Then Mark saw the final page.
It was a legal document transferring ownership of a major portion of the Hale Estate.
The beneficiary was not Mark.
It was Daisy.
His daughter.
Mark’s mouth went dry.
A floorboard creaked behind him.
He spun around.
Victoria stood in the doorway.
Barefoot.
Her face was pale.
“Put the folder down,” she said.
Mark held it tighter.
“You were married to Daniel.””
Victoria swallowed.
“That was before you.””
“And you and Daniel were trying to take the estate from me.””
“It’s not what you think.””
“Then tell me what it is.””
Victoria stared at the folder.
Then at Mark.
Finally, she whispered:
“Your father left Daisy this estate for a reason.””
Mark frowned.
“What reason?””
May you like
Victoria’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because Daisy isn’t the only person your father named as his heir.””
