Chapter 3
We left the hospital shortly after midnight.
Caleb was stable.
Amy refused to return home.
We checked into a hotel fifteen minutes away.
Neither of us slept.
At six in the morning, someone knocked.
I opened the door.
Melissa stood there holding a thick brown envelope.
“You need to see this.”
Amy sat up.
“What is it?”
Melissa entered.
“I went to Grandma’s old storage unit.”
I stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because Teresa called me after she got out.”
“What did she say?”
“That she finally fixed Dad’s mistake.”
My pulse jumped.
“What mistake?”
Melissa handed me the envelope.
Inside were copies of my father’s trust documents.
The first version was dated six years earlier.
I scanned the pages.
My father had divided the property equally between me and Teresa after his death.
Then I found another document.
Amended Trust.
Three weeks before his death.
The new document removed Teresa’s ownership rights.
Completely.
Amy leaned closer.
“Ryan…”
According to the amendment, the house transferred directly to me after my father died.
Not Teresa.
Not Victor.
Me.
I looked at Melissa.
“Then why does the current trust say something different?”
“Keep reading.”
The amendment included a handwritten note.
Ryan,
This home belongs to you, Amy, and any children you have. Your mother cannot sell it, control it, or remove them.
My throat tightened.
Amy covered her mouth.
There was more.
If anything happens to me before the amendment is properly recorded, contact attorney Harold Benson.
I looked at Melissa.
“Benson?”
“He’s retired.”
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
Thirty minutes later, I called him.
He answered on the fourth ring.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Benson? My name is Ryan Carter.”
Silence.
Then his voice changed.
“Thomas Carter’s son?”
“Yes.”
“I wondered when you would call.”
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“You knew about the amendment?”
“I prepared it.”
“Then why was it never recorded?”
“It was.”
The room became completely silent.
“What?”
“I personally filed the amendment after your father signed it.”
I looked at Amy.
“Then why isn’t it part of the trust?”
Benson sighed.
“Because someone challenged the filing two days later.”
“Who?”
“I never learned.”
“What happened?”
“The county received documents claiming your father lacked mental capacity when he signed the amendment.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I agreed.”
“My father ran his company until the week he died.”
“I know.”
Benson paused.
“The challenge included a doctor’s statement.”
“What doctor?”
“I don’t remember the name.”
“Can you find it?”
“Yes.”
“Please.”
After the call, Amy walked to the window.
“Your mother knew.”
“I think so.”
“She knew your father wanted her out.”
I nodded.
“And she spent four years acting like she owned everything.”
Melissa looked uncomfortable.
“There’s something else.”
She opened her phone.
“Teresa has been telling everyone Amy manipulated Dad before he died.”
Amy spun around.
“I barely saw him during his last month. Caleb wasn’t even born.”
“I know.”
“Why would she say that?”
“To explain why Dad changed the trust.”
I clenched my jaw.
“What exactly is she claiming?”
Melissa hesitated.
“That Amy was having an affair with him.”
Amy turned white.
“What?”
I grabbed the phone.
There were dozens of family messages.
My mother had written:
Thomas became obsessed with Amy.
She manipulated him.
Ryan never knew.
The house was payment.
I nearly threw the phone.
“She’s disgusting.”
Amy stared at me.
“Ryan.”
“I don’t believe her.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“What?”
“She’s building a story.”
Amy was right.
Teresa wasn’t just trying to keep the house.
She was destroying Amy’s reputation so nobody would question why my father protected her.
My phone rang.
Harold Benson.
That was fast.
I answered.
“Mr. Benson?”
“I found the doctor’s statement.”
“Who signed it?”
Benson took a breath.
“Dr. Samuel Cross.”
I frowned.
“I don’t know him.”
“You do.”
“What?”
“He was your mother’s physician for fifteen years.”
My stomach turned.
Benson continued.
“And Ryan?”
May you like
“Yes?”
“Your father never met him.”
