Chapter 8 - THE SECRET BEHIND THE FAMILY PORTRAIT
My grandfather had always been careful about discussing my mother's death.
He told me she had been ill.
He said she had suffered greatly in her final months.
And when I was old enough to understand, he explained that some details were too painful to revisit.
I never questioned him.
Now, standing in Margaret's office with the photograph in my hand, I wondered how much of my family's history I had never been told.
The woman in the photograph was unmistakably my mother, Laura Carter.
She stood beside my grandfather outside the estate's original gate.
But there was something unusual about the picture.
The date on the back was from eleven years before my mother died.
And Daniel had somehow obtained it through Victor.
Margaret called the retired attorney who had handled my grandfather's estate.
He agreed to meet us.
His name was Samuel Reed.
He arrived carrying a thick leather briefcase.
After examining the photograph, he nodded slowly.
"I remember this."
"What was my mother doing with my grandfather?"
Samuel opened his briefcase.
"Your mother was involved in the family's charitable foundation. She also helped review certain investments."
"Which investments?"
He looked at Margaret.
"Mercer Capital was one of them."
I felt my heart sink.
"My mother knew Daniel's company?"
"She knew some of its original investors. But she became concerned about the way certain transactions were being handled."
"Did she confront anyone?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
Samuel hesitated.
"Your mother's brother."
I stared at him.
"My uncle?"
"Yes. Michael Carter."
I barely remembered him.
He had moved overseas when I was a child and rarely contacted the family.
My grandfather had once told me that Michael had made some unfortunate business decisions.
I had assumed they had simply grown apart.
Samuel continued.
"Michael was involved in the early structure of Northbridge Holdings. After your mother's death, your grandfather became convinced that someone had used the company's accounts improperly."
"Was Michael responsible?"
"We never established that."
"Then why did my grandfather suspect him?"
Samuel opened a folder.
"Because several documents disappeared shortly after your mother's final investigation."
He placed a photocopy in front of me.
It was a handwritten note.
The words were difficult to read, but one sentence stood out.
If anything happens to me, don't let Michael control Emily's inheritance.
I stared at the paper.
My mother had written it.
Margaret leaned forward.
"Was this included in the original estate records?"
"No. It was discovered in a private archive several months after Thomas Carter died."
"Why wasn't Emily informed?"
Samuel looked uncomfortable.
"Your grandfather left instructions that she should not be told unless there was a direct attempt to interfere with her inheritance."
I felt anger rising.
"Everyone decided what I was allowed to know about my own family."
Samuel lowered his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
For the next hour, we examined the documents.
The records suggested that Michael Carter had once controlled an interest in Northbridge Holdings.
That interest had later been transferred through several corporate entities.
The final recipient appeared to be Sterling Advisory Partners.
We still didn't know who controlled the company today.
But we had a direction.
Meanwhile, Evelyn was beginning to panic.
She had discovered that several of her automatic payments were no longer being approved.
Her private club membership had been suspended because the account responsible for paying the monthly fee was under review.
Her personal shopping card had also been declined.
She called me seventeen times.
I finally answered.
"Emily! What have you done?"
"Hello, Evelyn."
"Don't pretend you don't know! My accounts are frozen!"
"Your allowance was never an independent source of income. The payments are being reviewed."
"You're punishing me because of one argument?"
"Your son hit me."
"He apologized!"
"He didn't."
"Daniel is under pressure. You should be supporting him, not destroying his life!"
I took a breath.
"Have you ever considered how much money I've spent supporting yours?"
She went quiet.
Then she said something I hadn't expected.
"Your mother would be ashamed of you."
The words struck deeper than the slap.
I stood very still.
"Don't ever use my mother to hurt me again."
Evelyn laughed bitterly.
"Perhaps you should ask your uncle what your mother really thought of this family."
I froze.
"What do you know about Michael?"
She immediately became silent.
"Evelyn?"
"I know nothing."
"You just mentioned him."
"I was speaking generally."
"No, you weren't."
She hung up.
I called Margaret immediately.
"Find Michael Carter."
By evening, we had located him.
He was living in Connecticut under his own name.
And according to public business records, he had recently become a consultant for Sterling Advisory Partners.
The next morning, I received an email from an unfamiliar address.
It contained a single attachment.
A photograph of a document bearing my grandfather's signature.
The subject line read:
YOUR GRANDFATHER'S FINAL AGREEMENT.
I opened it.
It appeared to be a private agreement involving the estate, Northbridge Holdings, and an unnamed beneficiary.
At the bottom was a handwritten note.
Emily must never be allowed to discover the second ownership arrangement.
I read it three times.
Then I called Margaret.
She was silent for several seconds.
"Emily, don't forward this to anyone else yet."
"Why?"
"Because the document suggests something we haven't considered."
"What?"
"Your grandfather may not have been the only person with a legal interest in the estate when you purchased it."
I looked at the photograph again.
And then I noticed the final line.
The name of the second beneficiary.
LAURA CARTER.
My mother.
May you like
But my mother had been dead for years.
So why had my grandfather left her name on a document dated only eighteen months before his death?
