Chapter 4
By noon, we had an attorney.
By one, we had temporary legal protection preventing Teresa from changing locks or removing our belongings.
By two, Teresa was standing on our lawn anyway.
Amy watched from the hotel through our security camera.
“She brought people.”
I looked.
Teresa had arrived with Victor, two cousins, and a locksmith.
I called the police.
Then I activated the outdoor speaker.
“Leave the property.”
Teresa looked directly at the camera.
“Come home and say it to my face.”
“The court order was delivered an hour ago.”
Victor waved a paper.
“This property belongs to the trust.”
“Not until a judge determines whether the trust documents were altered.”
Teresa laughed.
“You’re embarrassing yourself.”
The locksmith stopped working.
“I wasn’t told there was a court dispute.”
“There isn’t,” Teresa snapped.
“There is,” I said through the speaker.
The locksmith packed his tools.
Teresa grabbed his arm.
“You’re being paid.”
He pulled away.
“Not enough for this.”
He left.
Amy almost smiled.
Then Victor walked toward the camera.
“Ryan, stop this.”
“Why did you sign the termination notice?”
“Because your mother is trustee.”
“So are you.”
“You forced our hand.”
“I protected my wife.”
Victor lowered his voice.
“You don’t understand what you’re uncovering.”
I stared at the screen.
“What does that mean?”
He walked away.
The police arrived minutes later.
Teresa left before they could question her.
But Victor stayed.
He sat on the front steps.
Waiting.
“Maybe he wants to talk,” Amy said.
“I’m going there.”
“I’m coming.”
“Amy—”
“No more secrets.”
Thirty minutes later, we stood in the driveway.
Victor looked older than I remembered.
He held a small metal box.
“I should’ve given you this years ago.”
Teresa’s car was gone.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Your father’s.”
He handed me the box.
Inside was a recorder.
An old digital one.
My father used it during business meetings.
Victor looked at Amy.
“Thomas knew Teresa was stealing.”
Amy stiffened.
“Stealing what?”
“Money.”
I opened the recorder.
“One month before he died, Thomas discovered Teresa had been transferring money from his accounts.”
“How much?”
“Almost four hundred thousand dollars.”
My breath disappeared.
Victor continued.
“He confronted her.”
“And?”
“She said he was confused.”
“Was he?”
“No.”
“Then why did you help her?”
Victor looked down.
“Because she threatened me.”
“With what?”
He didn’t answer.
“Victor.”
“She knew about my gambling debts.”
I stared at him.
“You helped her steal Dad’s house because you owed money?”
“I signed paperwork.”
“What paperwork?”
“The challenge against the amendment.”
Amy stepped forward.
“You knew Thomas was competent?”
“Yes.”
“And you signed anyway?”
“Yes.”
I wanted to hit him.
Amy caught my arm.
“No.”
She looked at Victor.
“What happened after Thomas confronted Teresa?”
Victor’s eyes filled with fear.
“He changed the trust.”
“We know.”
“No. You don’t understand.”
He pointed at the recorder.
“Listen to file seventeen.”
I pressed play.
Static.
Then my father’s voice.
“If anything happens to me, it wasn’t natural.”
Amy grabbed my hand.
My father continued.
“Teresa has been taking my medication. I found pills missing again.”
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
I stared at Victor.
“What medication?”
“Heart medication.”
My chest tightened.
My father died from cardiac arrest.
I could barely speak.
“Did Teresa know removing his pills could kill him?”
Victor looked away.
“Victor.”
“Yes.”
Amy gasped.
Then Victor whispered something worse.
“The night Thomas died, Teresa called me.”
“What did she say?”
“She said it was finally over.”
My knees almost buckled.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“She threatened to expose my debts and destroy my marriage.”
“So you stayed silent?”
“I was a coward.”
I looked at the recorder.
“Does she know you have this?”
“No.”
A car door slammed behind us.
We turned.
Teresa stood across the street.
Watching.
She looked at Victor.
Then at the metal box.
Her face changed.
May you like
She knew exactly what it was.
And for the first time in my life, I saw my mother afraid.
