Chapter 4 - Claire’s Locked Drawer
The police found no forced entry.
That meant whoever entered Daniel’s home either had a key or knew the security code.
Margaret had both.
Daniel said nothing.
He changed every lock instead.
Then he started searching Claire’s belongings himself.
Three days later, he found a small brass key taped beneath one of her jewelry drawers.
Daniel recognized it.
A year earlier, Claire had rented a safety-deposit box.
She told him it contained sentimental items from her late father.
Daniel had never questioned it.
The bank manager brought him the box.
Inside were photographs.
Letters.
Claire’s wedding ring insurance paperwork.
And a sealed envelope with Daniel’s name written across the front.
His hands shook.
He opened it.
Daniel,
If you are reading this, something happened before I could explain.
Your mother knows I found something in your father’s estate records.
She wants me silent.
Please don’t confront her until you know what she’s protecting.
And whatever she tells you about Noah, test him yourself.
I have never betrayed you.
I love you.
Claire.
Daniel read it three times.
Then he found something beneath the letter.
A photocopy of a page from his late father William Carter’s trust.
Most of it looked ordinary.
Until Daniel reached one paragraph.
Upon the birth of my first biological grandchild, specified voting shares and designated real property shall transfer into an irrevocable trust established for that child.
Daniel’s heart pounded.
Noah was William Carter’s first grandchild.
If Noah was Daniel’s biological son, Noah had inherited something automatically at birth.
Something Margaret apparently did not want him to have.
Daniel called the estate attorney listed on the document.
The attorney had retired.
His replacement hesitated when Daniel mentioned the clause.
Then she said:
“Mr. Carter, I think you should come here in person.”
“Why?”
Another pause.
“Because according to the records currently in our system, your father’s first biological grandchild has already been declared.”
Daniel went still.
“Who?”
The attorney lowered her voice.
May you like
“Someone named Lucas Carter.”
Daniel had never heard that name in his life.
