Chapter 6: The Night Everything Changed
I called Tyler immediately.
He rejected the call.
I tried again.
Rejected.
Then my phone lit up with a message.
*Meet me alone if you want the truth. Parking lot behind Westbrook Mall. Noon.*
Catherine read it over my shoulder.
"Absolutely not.""
"He knows something.""
"Or he's trying to frighten you into doing what Laura wants.""
"What if he knows what happened to Mom?""
Catherine's expression softened, but her voice remained firm.
"We are not going to risk your safety because a nineteen-year-old boy sends cryptic messages. If Tyler has information, he can share it with Rachel or the lawyer.""
I wanted to argue.
Instead, I stared at his message until the screen went dark.
At eleven thirty, Rachel called to tell us that the bank had blocked further withdrawals and was preparing a formal transaction report. She also confirmed that the attempted $10,000 transfer had originated from a device registered to Laura.
It hadn't gone through.
For the first time, the account was protected by someone other than my father.
But the message about Mom wouldn't leave my mind.
At noon, Catherine took me to Rachel's office, where we planned to call Tyler on speakerphone.
He didn't answer.
Five minutes later, someone knocked on the conference room door.
Rachel opened it.
Tyler stood in the hallway wearing a black hoodie and sunglasses. He looked exhausted, with dark circles beneath his eyes and a red mark across one cheek.
He glanced at me.
"I need to talk to Emma.""
Rachel folded her arms.
"Then talk here. The door stays open.""
Tyler hesitated.
"This is family business.""
"Emma is a minor, and we're discussing a disputed inheritance. There will be no private meeting.""
He pulled off his sunglasses.
For once, he didn't look arrogant.
He looked scared.
"Fine," he muttered.
"But you need to hear this before my mom finds out I'm here.""
He sat opposite me and placed a thick envelope on the table.
I recognized the logo on its corner.
Westbrook Regional Hospital.
My mouth went dry.
"Where did you get that?""
"Mom's filing cabinet.""
Rachel didn't touch it.
"Tyler, before you disclose anything, I need you to understand that these documents may contain confidential medical or legal information. We should establish where they came from and whether you're authorized to share them.""
"I know."" He looked at me.
"But if I don't tell her, she'll never find out what happened.""
Catherine leaned forward.
"What happened, Tyler?""
He rubbed his palms against his jeans.
"Five years ago, the night Aunt Sarah supposedly died, my mom told me she was going to the hospital to help Daniel with some paperwork.""
I frowned.
"Laura wasn't married to Dad yet.""
"They were together. They'd been together for almost a year.""
I had known my father began dating Laura shortly before Mom's death, but he'd always described their relationship as something that developed afterward.
Tyler continued.
"Mom told me not to mention that she'd gone to the hospital. She said Daniel was dealing with something private and that the family didn't need gossip.""
Catherine's expression turned icy.
"Why are you telling us this now?""
"Because of the car.""
He looked at me.
"When Emma started asking questions, Mom told me to delete some messages from my old phone. She said they were about a business transaction and that Dad would be furious if anyone saw them.""
"Did you delete them?""
"Yes.""
I felt sick.
"Why?""
"Because she said she'd already paid for my car and that I owed her. She reminded me that Dad had let me stay at his house when my own father left.""
Tyler's biological father had abandoned his family when Tyler was twelve. Laura rarely spoke about him, except to complain about the child support he never paid.
"So you helped her hide my money," I said.
Tyler looked down.
"Yes.""
The admission was so simple that it hurt more than an excuse would have.
He pushed the envelope toward Rachel.
"But I kept these.""
Inside were hospital discharge summaries, photocopies of legal correspondence, and a handwritten note.
The first medical document carried my mother's name.
Sarah Carter.
The date was the same day Dad had told me she died.
I scanned the page, struggling to make out the smaller print.
Rachel leaned closer.
"May I?""
I handed it to her.
She read the first page, then the second. Her expression grew increasingly serious.
"This appears to be a discharge summary," she said.
"But we need the hospital to verify the records and explain the clinical terminology.""
"Is she dead?"" I asked.
Rachel looked at me.
"This document alone doesn't establish that.""
Tyler swallowed.
"There's something else.""
He pulled out a photocopy of a letter addressed to Daniel Carter.
The date was two months after Mom's death.
It was from a law firm.
The first paragraph referred to an outstanding guardianship matter involving a minor child.
The second paragraph mentioned a protected inheritance account.
The third paragraph made my blood run cold.
Our client, Sarah Carter, has requested that all further communications regarding her daughter's financial interests be directed through the designated legal representative.
I stared at the name.
Sarah Carter.
My dead mother had apparently communicated with a lawyer two months after the date of her death.
"Where did you get this?"" Catherine asked.
Tyler rubbed his forehead.
"It was in the filing cabinet. Mom kept telling me the papers were old and irrelevant. But last week, after Emma found the receipt, I went looking for something that might prove where the car money came from.""
He looked at me.
"I didn't know she'd taken that much. I thought Dad had bought the car with his own money.""
"You didn't ask?""
"I didn't want to know.""
His voice cracked.
"I wanted the car.""
For the first time, I saw him without the usual smirk or swagger.
He was a nineteen-year-old who had let himself be bought.
That didn't make what he'd done acceptable.
But it explained why he was sitting in front of me now, trembling.
Rachel placed the documents into a clear folder.
"These need to be preserved. We won't draw conclusions from photocopies, but they give us specific records to request from the hospital and the law firm.""
"Can you find out what happened to my mother?"" I asked.
"With the proper authorizations, we can start by requesting the relevant records and locating the attorney who handled the guardianship matter.""
Catherine turned toward Tyler.
"Does your mother know you took these?""
He shook his head.
"Not yet.""
"Then why come here?""
He hesitated.
"Because she said something last night that scared me.""
"What?""
Tyler looked directly at me.
"She told Dad that if Emma ever found out about the original trust, they'd both lose everything.""
Rachel went still.
"Both of them?""
"That's what she said.""
I felt a chill spread through my body.
"What does that mean?""
Tyler shook his head.
"I don't know. But Mom was talking about a document that had to be signed before Emma turned eighteen. She said if the money stayed protected until then, she wouldn't be able to touch it.""
Rachel exchanged a look with Catherine.
"Did she mention the document's name?""
Tyler nodded.
"She called it the beneficiary release.""
Rachel's expression hardened.
"That document would not automatically allow your stepmother to access the account. We need to see the actual paperwork before interpreting what she meant.""
Tyler reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet.
"I found this in her desk.""
Rachel unfolded it.
At the top was the name of a law firm.
Beneath it was a scheduled appointment for the following Monday.
The purpose was listed as:
*Execution of Beneficiary Release and Transfer Authorization.*
The proposed signatories were Daniel Carter and Emma Carter.
My name appeared at the bottom.
I stared at the page.
"They want me to sign away my inheritance.""
Rachel nodded slowly.
"That appears to be what this document is intended to accomplish, though we need the complete agreement to know its legal effect.""
Catherine stood so quickly her chair scraped backward.
"She's trying to make Emma sign away her own money.""
"Not if we can stop it," Rachel said.
I looked at Tyler.
"Why Monday?""
He hesitated.
"Because Mom says Emma's medical appointment will be taken care of after the papers are signed.""
My throat tightened.
"They're using my eyes to make me sign?""
Tyler didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Rachel took a photograph of the appointment notice and placed the original in a protective folder.
"No one should pressure you into signing anything. We will notify the bank and the relevant legal representatives that the proposed transfer is disputed. We'll also contact the law firm to clarify why this appointment was arranged.""
I stared at my name on the paper.
All those years, I'd believed my father was protecting me.
Now I wondered whether every promise he'd made had been another way to keep me quiet until I was old enough to sign away what Grandma had left.
My phone rang.
Dad.
Rachel nodded for me to answer, then switched on the conference room speaker.
"Emma?"" Dad said.
"Where are you?""
"With Aunt Catherine and Rachel.""
A long silence followed.
Then he said, "You need to come home.""
"Why?""
"Because you've been talking to people who don't understand our family.""
"Tyler gave Rachel the documents from Laura's desk.""
The silence became absolute.
When Dad spoke again, his voice was barely recognizable.
"Tyler gave you what?""
"The hospital records. The letter from the law firm. And the appointment notice for Monday.""
I heard something hit a surface on his end.
Then Laura's voice rose in the background.
"What did she say?""
Dad moved away from the phone, but not far enough.
"She has the documents.""
Laura said something I couldn't understand.
Then Dad returned.
"Emma, listen to me carefully. Those papers are not what you think they are.""
"Then what are they?""
"I can't explain over the phone.""
"You keep saying that!""
"Because you don't understand the consequences!""
I gripped the edge of the table.
"What consequences? What happened to Mom?""
He didn't answer.
I waited.
Finally, he said, "Your mother was very sick. There were decisions that had to be made, and I did what I thought was best for you.""
"Did you know she was alive after you told me she died?""
A sharp breath came through the speaker.
Laura's voice sounded close now.
"Daniel, don't answer that.""
My heart stopped.
Dad went silent.
I stared at the phone, feeling as though the room had suddenly lost all its air.
"Why would Laura tell you not to answer if there's nothing to hide?""
No response.
Then Dad whispered, "Emma, there is something you need to know about the night your mother died.""
He paused.
And before he could finish, Laura snatched the phone from him.
"Your father is not discussing this with you," she said coldly.
"Not until we know exactly what your aunt has told you.""
The call ended.
I sat motionless while the screen went black.
Rachel gathered the documents and locked them in her briefcase.
Catherine came around the table and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
Neither of them spoke for several seconds.
Then Rachel's office phone rang.
She answered, listened, and slowly sat down.
"Yes," she said.
"I'm representing the interests of Emma Carter's protected trust.""
Her eyes met mine.
"What do you mean the original beneficiary release was already filed?""
She listened again.
May you like
Then she asked the question that made my entire body go cold.
"Who witnessed Emma's signature?""
