Chapter 2: The Warning Laura Left Behind
I read the next lines twice because my mind refused to accept them.
“Claire has been asking questions about the girls’ trust.
She told me you planned to send them away after I d!ed.
I know that isn’t true.”
My eyes lifted toward the locked door.
“Claire,” I called, “why were you asking about my daughters’ money?”
The knocking stopped.
Rachel took the letter from my shaking hand and kept reading.
Laura had written that Claire once brought her documents to sign, claiming they were hospital forms.
Laura refused after noticing Margaret Bell’s name listed as a temporary guardian.
Sophie whispered, “Mrs.
Bell said you signed papers too.”
“I never signed anything.”
“Yes, you did,” Emma said.
“Claire brought them to you when you were sleepy.”
A memory struck me—Claire standing beside my bed days after Laura’s funeral, guiding my hand across forms she said were for school counseling.
Then Claire called through the door, “Daniel, Laura was confused near the end.
You know that.”
Sophie flinched.
“She wasn’t confused,” Rachel snapped.
“She was warning him about you.”
Suddenly, my phone rang.
The screen showed an unfamiliar number from Millbrook.
I answered and put it on speaker.
An older woman’s frightened voice filled the room.
“Daniel?
This is Margaret Bell.
Please don’t let Claire leave that building.
I found the girls’ passports—and another letter addressed to you.”
Outside the door, Claire’s footsteps began racing away.
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Daniel thought Laura’s letter contained the worst truth—but Margaret had evidence that changed everything.
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