Chapter 5: The Man From Before
My father spent the next hour staring at the name.
Daniel Reed.
A stranger.
A person who had apparently known something about Vanessa before she became part of our family.
I watched him search through his phone.
His hands were shaking.
“Who is Daniel?””
I asked.
Dad didn’t answer immediately.
Finally, he said, “I don’t know.””
That scared me.
My father knew everyone.
He remembered every client’s name.
Every employee’s birthday.
Every detail about people’s lives.
But this name meant nothing to him.
“Then how did Mom know him?””
He looked at the letter.
“I don’t know.””
The answer I kept hearing.
The answer nobody wanted to say.
I sat across from him.
“Maybe she was wrong.””
Dad looked at me.
“You don’t believe that.””
I didn’t.
Because my mother’s letter wasn’t angry.
It wasn’t written by someone who hated Vanessa.
It was written by someone who was afraid.
And fear had a reason.
That afternoon, Dad called his lawyer again.
By evening, he had an address.
Daniel Reed lived two towns away.
A retired accountant.
A man who had apparently disappeared from everyone’s lives years ago.
The next morning, Dad asked if I wanted to come.
I said yes.
I needed answers.
The drive was quiet.
Rain tapped against the windshield.
Halfway there, Dad finally spoke.
“I’m sorry.””
I looked out the window.
“You already said that.””
“I know.””
“Sorry doesn’t fix everything.””
“I know.””
I looked at him.
He nodded.
“That doesn’t mean I won’t keep saying it.””
For the first time in a long time, I believed him.
Daniel lived in a small yellow house with a garden in the front.
He looked surprised when he opened the door.
Especially when he saw my father.
“Michael?””
Dad froze.
“You know me?””
Daniel looked at me.
Then back at him.
“I know who you are.””
The words made my skin crawl.
Dad stepped forward.
“Do you know Vanessa?””
The older man’s expression changed instantly.
Like someone had turned off a light.
“Yes.””
Silence.
“How?””
Daniel looked toward the street.
Then opened the door wider.
“Come inside.””
His house smelled like old books and coffee.
He sat down slowly.
“I wondered when this day would come.””
Dad leaned forward.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel looked at me.
“It means your mother was right.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
He sighed.
“Your mother was one of the smartest people I ever knew.””
Dad’s voice hardened.
“Start explaining.””
Daniel folded his hands.
“Before Vanessa met you, she worked for my accounting firm.””
Dad frowned.
“She told me she worked in marketing.””
“She told you a lot of things.””
The room became silent.
Daniel continued.
“She was charming. Intelligent. Good at making people trust her.””
I felt cold.
“But?””
Daniel looked at me.
“But she had a habit.””
“What habit?”” Dad asked.
“She collected information.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“What kind of information?””
“Personal information.””
Daniel stood up and walked to a cabinet.
He pulled out a file.
“I fired her after I discovered she was accessing confidential records.””
Dad stared.
“You’re saying she stole information?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Because information gave her power.””
My stomach dropped.
Dad opened the file.
Inside were copies of reports.
Emails.
Documents.
Then one page caught his attention.
A complaint.
Against Vanessa.
From an employee.
Dad read silently.
Then his face changed.
“What?””
He handed it to me.
I read the words.
*Subject: Concerns Regarding Vanessa Hart’s Behavior*
The complaint described manipulation.
Threats.
Using private details against people.
I looked up.
“She did this before?””
Daniel nodded.
“Your mother found out.””
Dad looked up.
“How?””
“Vanessa met your wife while trying to get information from your family.””
The room went completely still.
My father stared.
“What information?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Your mother’s inheritance.””
I felt confused.
“My mother’s what?””
Dad’s face went pale.
“What are you talking about?””
Daniel sighed.
“Your wife owned property before she died.””
Dad shook his head.
“No. She didn’t.””
“She did.””
“No.””
Daniel opened another folder.
“She put everything into a trust.””
I stared at the papers.
A trust.
My name was written on the document.
My father grabbed it.
“Why didn’t I know about this?””
Daniel looked at him.
“Because your wife didn’t trust Vanessa.””
The words landed like a bomb.
My father looked like he had been punched.
“Why would she hide that from me?””
Daniel was quiet.
Then he said:
“Because she believed Vanessa was trying to get close to your family for a reason.””
I felt my heartbeat pounding.
“What reason?””
Daniel looked directly at me.
“She thought Vanessa wanted access to what belonged to you.””
Dad stood.
“That’s impossible.””
“Is it?””
Daniel pointed at the document.
“Look at the date the trust was created.””
Dad did.
His face drained.
The trust had been created three weeks before my mother died.
Three weeks before Vanessa entered our lives.
Three weeks before everything changed.
Then Daniel said something that made the room go cold.
“Your mother wasn’t just worried about Vanessa becoming your stepmother.””
He paused.
“She was worried Vanessa had already started planning how to replace her.””
On the drive home, nobody spoke.
My father held the documents in his lap.
I stared out the window.
A million questions filled my head.
But one question kept coming back.
If Vanessa wanted my mother’s trust…
Why had she spent six years pretending she hated me?
That night, when we arrived home, the front door was unlocked.
Dad immediately noticed.
“We locked it before leaving.””
My stomach tightened.
We walked inside.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
Then we saw the kitchen table.
The documents from the trust were spread across it.
And sitting on top was a note.
May you like
Only four words.
*You should have asked me.*
