Chapter 6 - THE THIRD SIBLING
Elena walked into the room and closed the door gently behind her.
She wore a pale blue dress. Her hair was pulled back neatly. She looked exactly like the sister I had always known—calm, gentle, thoughtful.
But as she stepped closer, I noticed the way her eyes flicked toward those documents on the desk. Fast. Calculating. Almost hungry.
“Elena,” I said, my voice tight. “How did you know we were here?”
She smiled, but it did not reach her eyes.
“Marcus told me he was coming. I was worried about both of you. I thought I should be here.”
She pulled out a chair and sat down, folding her hands neatly in her lap.
“Now… what is all this about?”
Mr. Henderson cleared his throat.
“We are examining documents that appear to transfer funds from Sophie’s trust. We believe they are forgeries.”
Elena’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
“Forgeries? How terrible.”
She leaned forward to look at the paper.
“Someone has gone to a great deal of trouble,” she said. “The signatures are almost perfect.”
“Almost,” Marcus said quietly. “The curve on the C is too soft. The loop on the A is too wide.”
Elena froze. Just for a heartbeat. Then she settled back in her chair.
“Whoever did this,” she said smoothly, “knew Adrian’s signature and mine and Marcus’s habits very well. They must have been watching us for quite some time.”
“Or copying them,” I said. “From letters. From cards. From documents they saw every day.”
Elena looked at me. Her expression was soft, concerned.
“That could be anyone, Adrian. Surely you don’t suspect family?”
“Claire did,” I said.
Elena blinked.
“Claire?”
“She left proof hidden away. And a warning. She said the person stealing from Sophie was someone I loved. Someone I would never suspect.”
Elena looked hurt.
“That is terrible. But Claire was very sick those last months. Perhaps she was confused. Perhaps she was afraid.”
“She was not confused,” I said. “She was terrified. And she was right to be.”
Elena stood up slowly.
“I can see this is very difficult for you, Adrian. You are angry. You are hurt. You are looking for someone to blame. But to come here and accuse family… to imply that one of us would hurt a child…”
She shook her head sadly.
“I would never hurt Sophie. Neither would Marcus. We love her. She is our niece.”
“Someone forged these signatures,” I said. “And someone sent Vanessa into my house to find what Claire hid. Someone needed that USB drive destroyed.”
Elena walked to the window.
“Vanessa was always a strange choice for you,” she said quietly. “Claire never liked her. Did you know that?”
“She never said.”
“She told me once. She said Vanessa was too interested in your money. Too interested in Claire’s things. She said Vanessa asked too many questions about legal documents and wills.”
I frowned.
“When did she tell you this?”
“Shortly before she died.” Elena turned back to me. “Claire was afraid, Adrian. She was afraid of what might happen to Sophie. She told me she had changed things. That she had made sure no one could touch Sophie’s inheritance. But she wouldn’t tell me more. She said some things were too dangerous to know.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“Claire told you she changed things?”
“She did.” Elena looked at the USB drive on the desk. “Is that what is on that drive? The changes she made?”
I hesitated.
“Yes.”
Elena took a step forward.
“Then perhaps you should give it to me. Or to Mr. Henderson. To keep safe. Until this is sorted out. You shouldn’t carry something so important around in your pocket. Whoever wants it knows you have it now. You are putting yourself… and Sophie… in danger.”
Her voice was so reasonable. So gentle. So concerned.
But I remembered what Marcus had said. Someone who knows both our signatures. Someone who had been around us since childhood. Someone Claire had spoken to privately, shortly before she died.
Someone who knew exactly what Claire had hidden.
I reached into my pocket and closed my hand around the drive.
“I will keep it safe,” I said.
Elena’s smile faltered. Just a little.
“Adrian… think of Sophie. If someone finds out you have this… they might try to take it from you. By force.”
“Let them try.”
Elena stood very still. For a moment, the gentle sister mask slipped away. Her eyes turned cold. Hard. Familiar in a way that made my blood run cold.
Then she smiled again. Bright and warm.
“Of course. You are right. You know best. I only worry.”
She turned to Mr. Henderson.
“Please do everything you can to find out who did this. And please… keep us informed. We are family. We should know what is happening.”
“Of course,” Mr. Henderson said.
Elena walked to the door. She paused with her hand on the handle and looked back at me.
“Be careful, Adrian. And keep Sophie close. Whoever is doing this… they are much closer than you think.”
Then she was gone.
I stood there in silence for a long moment.
Marcus leaned forward, his voice barely a whisper.
“Adrian. Did you notice?”
“Notice what?”
“When she looked at the documents… she didn’t just see them. She knew exactly what was wrong with them before I even said. And when I pointed out the curve on the C… she didn’t ask what I meant. She didn’t ask to see it. She already knew.”
I gripped the edge of the desk.
“Because she drew that curve herself.”
Marcus nodded slowly.
“Claire told me she suspected someone in the family. She wouldn’t say who. She said she needed proof before she spoke to you. Because she knew you would never believe it. Not about her. Not about Elena.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“Claire suspected Elena?”
“She came to me the week before she died. She said she had caught Elena going through her desk. Reading her private files. Asking questions about the trust. She said Elena had asked her to sign documents that weren’t what they appeared to be.”
My throat tightened.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because Claire made me promise not to!” Marcus said, his voice breaking. “She said if you found out… you would confront Elena. And Elena was clever. She would twist everything. She would make you look like the villain. And then… then she would have access to everything. Because you would be angry and distracted and Elena would step in as the poor, misunderstood sister.”
He leaned forward, gripping my arm.
“Claire said to wait. She said she had hidden proof. That when the time was right… you would find it. And then… then you would know the truth about all of us.”
I stared at the door Elena had walked through.
My sister.
My own flesh and blood.
The woman who held Sophie when she cried. Who brought us meals after Claire died. Who comforted me when I thought I couldn’t go on.
All along… she had been stealing from us. Forging our signatures. Sending Vanessa to find the proof. Hurting Sophie just to get her hands on a drive.
And Claire had known.
May you like
Claire had known it was Elena.
And she had hidden that drive inside a teddy bear because she knew Elena would never think to look there.
