Chapter 5 - The Room UpstairsThe whisper came again.
“Nora.”
My skin prickled.
It wasn't my mother's voice.
It wasn't my father's.
It wasn't Tyler.
I looked toward the staircase.
Dad stepped in front of me.
“You need to leave.”
“Who is upstairs?”
“No one.”
The voice came again.
“Nora.”
This time I recognized it.
It was my father's younger brother.
Uncle Daniel.
The man my family hadn't mentioned in years.
I hadn't seen him since I was seventeen.
“What is Uncle Daniel doing here?”
Dad's face drained of color.
Tyler stepped backward.
Mom whispered, “Don't.”
I moved toward the stairs.
Dad grabbed my arm.
“You don't understand.”
I pulled away.
“Then explain.”
He didn't.
I climbed the stairs.
The door at the end of the hallway was locked.
“Nora,” Daniel whispered from inside.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Then why are you locked in there?”
No answer.
I looked at my father.
“You locked him in?”
“He's sick.”
The sentence came too quickly.
I stopped.
“I thought he lived in Arizona.”
Dad said nothing.
I looked at Mom.
She wouldn't meet my eyes.
I reached for the doorknob.
Dad grabbed my shoulder.
“Nora.”
I turned.
“Move.”
He didn't.
Then Tyler shouted from downstairs.
“Dad!”
Something crashed.
My father released me and ran.
I unlocked the door.
Inside, Daniel sat beside the bed.
He looked older.
Much older.
His face was thinner.
His hair almost completely gray.
But his eyes were clear.
“Close the door,” he said.
I did.
“Are you okay?”
He nodded.
“They've been keeping me here for three weeks.”
“Why?”
“Because I know where the original documents are.”
“What documents?”
He looked toward the ceiling.
“The ones your grandfather left.”
My heart began pounding.
“The property documents?”
“More than that.”
He reached beneath the mattress and pulled out a small metal box.
He handed it to me.
“Your grandfather knew your father would eventually come after everything.”
I stared at the box.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“Six months ago.”
I shook my head.
“I never heard from you.”
“I left messages.”
“On my phone?”
He nodded.
“I thought they were spam calls.”
Daniel smiled sadly.
“They made sure you wouldn't recognize my number.”
My stomach turned.
I opened the box.
Inside were photographs.
Bank statements.
Property maps.
And a flash drive.
“What is this?”
“Proof.”
“Proof of what?”
Daniel took a breath.
“Your grandfather wasn't simply wealthy.”
I waited.
“He had a private investment account.”
“How much?”
Daniel looked directly at me.
“Enough to change all of this.”
I stared at the flash drive.
“Why would Dad hide it?”
“Because it wasn't supposed to go to him.”
My fingers tightened around the box.
“Who was it supposed to go to?”
Daniel smiled.
“You.”
Silence filled the room.
“You're saying Grandpa left me another inheritance?”
“Your father took control of the estate before anyone could verify the final documents.”
“How?”
“Forgery.”
The word landed like a stone.
“Again?”
Daniel nodded.
“Your father has been doing this for years.”
I sat beside him.
“What about Mom?”
“She knows.”
“And Tyler?”
“He knows some of it.”
I thought about the way Tyler had looked at the property document.
Not surprise.
Fear.
Daniel leaned toward me.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“Your father doesn't owe four hundred thousand dollars.”
“I know he owes more.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“You misunderstand.”
He pointed to the bank statements.
“The debt is closer to one point six million.”
My heart stopped.
I stared at the numbers.
Multiple lenders.
Private loans.
Credit lines.
Property liens.
Outstanding judgments.
All connected to my father's name.
“But how?”
“Gambling.”
I looked up.
Daniel nodded.
“Your father has been losing money for years.”
“Then why did he tell everyone he was investing?”
“Because that story sounded respectable.”
I closed my eyes.
Everything suddenly fit.
The constant emergencies.
The money requests.
The pressure.
The urgency.
The sudden obsession with my car.
The demand for the title.
The forged loan.
The property transfer.
They weren't trying to take one thing.
They were trying to liquidate everything they could.
My assets.
My name.
My inheritance.
My future.
Daniel pointed toward the flash drive.
“Your grandfather recorded something.”
“What?”
“A conversation with your father.”
“When?”
“Two weeks before he died.”
I stared at the drive.
“What's on it?”
Daniel looked at me.
“Your father admitting what he planned to do.”
I reached for the drive.
Then footsteps sounded outside.
We both froze.
Someone was standing in the hallway.
The doorknob turned.
Daniel whispered:
“They know I gave you the box.”
The door opened.
Tyler stood there.
His face was pale.
His eyes fell on the box in my hands.
Then on the flash drive.
May you like
He whispered one sentence.
“Nora… you have no idea what that recording contains.”
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