Chapter 5 - THE ORIGINAL WILLThe next morning, Christopher returned to the family estate.
Juliette was under police guard.
Nathan remained hidden.
Detective Reed had discovered something disturbing.
The trust documents had been altered.
Someone had attempted to change Emma's beneficiary.
Christopher sat in his father's old study.
He opened every drawer.
Nothing.
Then he remembered something his father used to say.
“Paper remembers what people forget.”
Christopher looked at the old bookshelf.
He pulled down a leather-bound Bible.
Nothing.
Then he noticed the spine was thicker than it should be.
He cut it open.
Inside was a hidden envelope.
His father's handwriting.
Christopher opened it.
The first sentence made his heart stop.
IF YOU ARE READING THIS, NATHAN IS ALIVE.
Christopher stared.
The letter explained everything.
Nathan had discovered that their father's business partner had been stealing millions.
When he confronted him, Nathan was attacked.
Their father staged Nathan's death to protect him.
But then the conspiracy grew.
Someone inside the family began manipulating the estate.
The final paragraph was addressed directly to Christopher.
“Christopher, if anyone tries to separate you from Emma, do not trust the person offering help.”
Christopher's eyes narrowed.
Then he saw another document.
The original trust.
It contained a condition he'd never known about.
If Emma was ever declared incapable of inheriting, the money would temporarily pass into a protected family foundation.
The foundation had one trustee.
Christopher.
But if Christopher lost guardianship...
The trustee would become—
Juliette.
Christopher's blood ran cold.
The entire plan suddenly made sense.
Juliette didn't need Emma dead immediately.
She needed Christopher declared unfit.
Then she could control the trust.
And someone else was helping her.
Christopher called Detective Reed.
“Come to the house.”
When Reed arrived, Christopher explained everything.
Reed looked at the documents.
“This could be enough to stop the guardianship petition.”
“Not enough.”
“What do you mean?”
Christopher pointed to the signature.
“That's my father's signature.”
Reed nodded.
“But this document is dated three years after his reported death.”
Silence.
Christopher stared at him.
“Then the official death record is false.”
“Yes.”
“And someone has been keeping my father alive.”
Reed looked toward the window.
“Or someone wants us to believe he is.”
A crash came from upstairs.
They ran.
A window was broken.
The hidden documents were gone.
Christopher's face hardened.
Someone had been watching them.
Then his phone rang.
A video message.
Eleanor appeared.
Emma sat beside her.
“Daddy,” Emma whispered.
Christopher's heart broke.
Eleanor smiled.
“You found your father's letter.”
Christopher said nothing.
“You were always clever.”
“Let her go.”
“Not yet.”
“What do you want?”
“The original trust.”
“I have it.”
“No.”
Eleanor's smile disappeared.
“You have a copy.”
Christopher realized she knew.
“How?”
“Because Juliette told me.”
Christopher turned.
Juliette was standing in the doorway.
Her face was pale.
“I didn't.”
Christopher stared at her.
Eleanor laughed through the phone.
“You still don't understand.”
The call ended.
Christopher looked at Juliette.
“Who are you really working for?”
Juliette shook her head.
“I swear I don't know.”
“You tried to kill Emma.”
“I was desperate.”
“Desperate enough to become a murderer.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“I thought if I did what they wanted, they'd leave me alone.”
“Who?”
Juliette whispered:
“Your father.”
Christopher stared.
Then a voice came from behind him.
“That's enough.”
Everyone turned.
An elderly man stood in the doorway.
Christopher stopped breathing.
His father.
May you like
Richard Hale.
Alive.
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