Chapter 3 - The Woman Behind the TrustThe east wing had been sealed for years.
Mark hadn't entered it since Eleanor's death.
The hallway smelled of dust and old wood.
Daniel carried the brass key.
Lily held Mark's hand.
Two officers followed behind them.
Victoria remained in the library under supervision.
Or so Mark thought.
The vault door was hidden behind a wooden panel.
The brass key fit perfectly.
Click.
The lock opened.
Inside were stacks of documents.
Bank statements.
Property records.
Old photographs.
A dozen sealed envelopes.
And one red folder.
Mark picked it up.
The label read:
LILY'S TRUST
He opened it.
The first page contained the original trust agreement.
The second contained an amendment.
Mark frowned.
"This signature isn't mine."
Daniel examined it.
"No."
He pointed to the date.
"This amendment was filed six months after Eleanor died."
Mark stared.
"Who signed it?"
"Someone pretending to be you."
The room seemed to shrink.
Mark looked through the remaining pages.
The forged amendment gave Victoria control of the trust if Mark became "incapacitated."
Mark's face hardened.
"She planned this."
Daniel nodded.
"That is only one possibility."
Mark looked at him.
"What else?"
Daniel pulled out another document.
A medical report.
Mark scanned it.
His blood ran cold.
It claimed that Mark had suffered a cognitive decline.
It was dated eighteen months earlier.
"I never had this examination."
Daniel's expression was grim.
"Then someone created a false medical record."
Lily looked confused.
"Does this mean Daddy is sick?"
Mark immediately knelt.
"No, sweetheart."
Daniel added quietly:
"Someone wanted the court to think he was."
A noise echoed from outside.
Footsteps.
Mark turned.
One officer rushed toward the corridor.
"Sir?"
A crash sounded from the library.
Mark ran.
When he returned, Victoria was gone.
The window was open.
The officer cursed.
"She must have escaped through the side courtyard."
Mark stared at the broken lock.
"How?"
The officer pointed to the security monitor.
"The cameras went down for approximately ninety seconds."
Daniel looked at Mark.
"That wasn't an accident."
Mark's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Silence.
Then Victoria's voice.
"You should have left the vault unopened."
Mark's jaw tightened.
"Where are you?"
"Somewhere your security team can't reach."
"You've made a mistake."
"No."
She laughed quietly.
"You made one."
"What do you want?"
"I want what you promised me."
"I promised you nothing."
"You promised me that Lily's trust would be mine."
"Never."
Victoria paused.
"Then I'll tell her what really happened to her mother."
Mark froze.
"Don't you dare."
"You don't even know the truth yourself."
The call ended.
Lily was standing in the doorway.
She had heard everything.
"What happened to Mommy?"
Mark couldn't speak.
Daniel looked at him.
"Mark..."
But Lily's face had already changed.
"You said Mommy died in an accident."
Mark swallowed.
"She did."
Victoria's voice suddenly echoed from the hallway speaker.
"Ask your father who was driving the car."
Mark turned pale.
The mansion lights went out.
May you like
Every door in the east wing slammed shut.
And somewhere beneath the house, something heavy began moving.
Related Stories
