Chapter 3 - The Blue BoxDaniel found Richard in the old library after the guests had left.
“You need to let this go,” he said.
Richard turned from the fireplace.
“Why?”
Daniel looked toward the door, making sure Caleb was not there.
“Because Mom has spent years keeping this family together.”
“No,” Richard said. “She has spent years controlling it.”
Daniel’s jaw clenched.
“Elena was not who you thought she was.”
Richard stepped forward.
“She was Caleb’s mother.”
“She was also going to destroy Mom.”
Richard stared at him.
Daniel finally confessed.
Six years earlier, Elena had discovered that Margaret had secretly transferred money from the family trust. The money was supposed to be held for Richard’s future children.
For Caleb.
Elena found the records and confronted Margaret.
“She said she had proof,” Daniel whispered. “Then she died two days later.”
Richard’s hands went cold.
“You think Mom hurt her?”
“I think Mom was terrified.”
The tiny key inside the locket fit the lock on an old desk drawer in the library.
Inside was a blue wooden box.
Richard opened it slowly.
There were bank statements, copies of trust documents, and a letter from Elena.
But one item stopped him.
A photograph from the night Elena died.
Margaret stood beside Elena’s damaged car.
The image had been taken before police arrived.
Richard looked at Daniel.
“Who took this?”
Daniel’s voice cracked.
“Mom did.”
Before Richard could respond, a sound came from the hallway.
Margaret was standing in the doorway.
She had heard everything.
And she was holding a phone in one hand.
“You don’t understand what Elena was planning,” Margaret said.
Richard looked at the photograph.
“Then explain it.”
Margaret did not.
May you like
She pressed a button on her phone.
Somewhere upstairs, Caleb screamed.
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