Chapter 3 - The Man in the Upstairs Bedroom
Richard Brooks had aged more than Natalie expected.
She remembered him from family gatherings as a loud, charming man who always had a joke ready.
The man standing on the stairs was different.
His hair was almost completely gray.
His shirt was wrinkled.
His eyes looked tired.
But there was something else in his expression.
Fear.
He descended slowly.
Diane stood rigidly beside the table.
Evan didn't move.
“What is the worst part?” he asked.
Richard glanced at Diane.
She shook her head.
“Not here.”
Evan laughed without humor.
“We're already here.”
Richard stopped at the bottom step.
He looked at Natalie.
“I owe you an apology.”
She frowned.
“For what?”
“I knew she was lying to you.”
Diane snapped, “Richard.”
He ignored her.
“I knew about the money.”
Evan's face hardened.
“How long?”
Richard hesitated.
“Years.”
Natalie felt anger rise again.
“How many years?”
“Since the house was purchased.”
Evan stepped forward.
“You knew my mother took my inheritance?”
“I knew she borrowed it.”
“Borrowed?”
Richard looked down.
“That was the word she used.”
“And you believed her?”
“I didn't have much choice.”
Richard placed the folder on the table.
“I tried to stop her.”
Diane shook her head.
“No, you didn't.”
Richard looked at her.
“You remember what happened.”
Natalie glanced between them.
“What happened?”
Richard didn't answer.
Diane did.
“He threatened me.”
Richard's expression tightened.
“I told you the truth.”
“You said you'd report me.”
“You stole from your son.”
“I protected him.”
“You lied to him for years.”
Evan slammed his palm against the table.
“Enough!”
Everyone went silent.
He stared at his mother.
“I need the truth.”
Diane looked at him.
For the first time, she looked old.
“I was trying to save the business.”
“What business?”
Richard closed his eyes.
Diane whispered, “Your father's company.”
Evan blinked.
“My dad's company?”
“Yes.”
“You said it closed after Grandpa died.”
“It did.”
Richard shook his head.
“No. It didn't.”
Evan turned.
“What?”
Richard pulled a document from the folder.
“Your grandfather had a second company.”
Natalie took the paper.
It was a corporate filing.
The company was still active.
Or had been active.
The date of dissolution was only six months earlier.
Evan stared.
“Why didn't I know this?”
“Because Diane didn't want you to.”
“Why?”
Richard looked at her.
“Because your name was on the trust.”
Evan frowned.
“What trust?”
Richard pointed toward the papers from the envelope.
“The trust your grandfather created for you.”
Natalie read the document again.
The language was dense.
But one sentence stood out.
Beneficiary: Evan Brooks.
Diane had known.
Richard had known.
And Evan had known nothing.
“Why hide it?” Natalie asked.
Diane's voice shook.
“Because your grandfather didn't trust me.”
Richard's eyes narrowed.
“That isn't true.”
“He blamed me for the company losses.”
“He blamed you because you caused them.”
Evan stared at his mother.
“You caused losses?”
Diane looked away.
“Not intentionally.”
Natalie felt a strange chill.
This had started with twenty extra Thanksgiving guests.
Now they were standing in a room filled with hidden money, undisclosed trusts, and a company Natalie had never heard of.
“How much was the company worth?” she asked.
Richard looked at her.
“At the time?”
“Yes.”
“About six hundred thousand dollars.”
Evan's eyebrows rose.
“And now?”
Richard hesitated.
“That's complicated.”
“Why?”
“Because someone sold the assets.”
“Who?”
Silence.
Natalie looked at Diane.
Diane said nothing.
Evan stared at his uncle.
“Who sold them?”
Richard's voice dropped.
“Your mother.”
Evan shook his head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You said the company was closed.”
“It was.”
“Without my permission?”
“You weren't listed as the operating owner.”
“But I was the beneficiary.”
“Yes.”
Evan turned toward his mother.
“How much did you sell it for?”
Diane closed her eyes.
Richard answered.
“Four hundred eighty thousand.”
Natalie's heart sank.
“And where did that money go?”
Richard said nothing.
Evan stepped closer.
“Where?”
“Some of it paid debts.”
“Whose debts?”
Diane whispered, “Mine.”
The word hung in the room.
Evan's expression collapsed.
“How much?”
Diane began crying.
“I didn't know what else to do.”
“How much?”
Richard answered.
“Three hundred ten thousand.”
Natalie stared.
“Dollars?”
“Yes.”
“To whom?”
Richard looked toward the folder.
“There are records.”
Evan opened it.
Creditors.
Loans.
Credit-card balances.
Private transfers.
Names of people Natalie didn't recognize.
Then one line stopped him.
He stared at it.
Natalie saw the change in his face.
“What?”
He handed her the paper.
The payment was made to a company called Northstar Logistics.
Natalie frowned.
“That name means something.”
Evan looked confused.
“To me?”
“I've seen it.”
“Where?”
“In your mother's emails.”
Diane's eyes widened.
Natalie looked at her.
“You said it was your landscaping company.”
“It was.”
“No. The email I saw three years ago was about a payment to Northstar.”
Diane went pale.
“You went through my emails?”
“No.”
Natalie looked at Evan.
“You forwarded me the tax documents.”
Diane stared at her.
“And you saw it.”
“Yes.”
Evan whispered, “Mom, what was Northstar?”
Diane sat down.
Richard sighed.
“It was the company she used to move the money.”
Silence.
Natalie sat opposite her.
“Move it where?”
Richard didn't answer.
Diane finally lifted her head.
“To your house.”
Natalie frowned.
“What?”
“She used part of the money to renovate it.”
Evan stared.
“Our house?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your grandfather's trust required the property to be maintained.”
Natalie couldn't believe what she was hearing.
“So the kitchen renovation…”
“Yes.”
“The roof…”
“Yes.”
“The basement…”
“Yes.”
She felt sick.
“We thought the bank paid for that.”
Evan looked at his mother.
“You told me the home equity loan covered it.”
“I needed to keep the property valuable.”
“You used my trust money to increase the value of a house I already owned?”
“I was protecting the investment.”
Evan shook his head.
“You keep saying that.”
Diane wiped her eyes.
“I was trying to keep everything from collapsing.”
Richard stepped forward.
“You weren't protecting anything.”
Diane glared at him.
“You don't know what it was like.”
“I know exactly what it was like.”
“No, you don't.”
“I watched you lie to everyone.”
“Because I was trying to save my family!”
“You were trying to save yourself.”
The words struck hard.
Diane stood.
“And what would you have done?”
Richard's voice softened.
“I would have told the truth.”
Diane laughed bitterly.
“Truth doesn't feed children.”
“No.”
Richard looked at Evan.
“But lies can cost them everything.”
A silence followed.
Then Evan noticed something else in the folder.
A photograph.
Old.
Creased.
It showed his grandfather standing in front of the house.
Only the house wasn't finished.
Construction workers stood behind him.
Evan turned it over.
There was writing on the back.
For Evan.
When the house is complete, he should know what it cost.
Natalie looked at Diane.
“What does that mean?”
Diane looked away.
Richard answered.
“Your grandfather knew there would be problems.”
Evan's voice was barely audible.
“He expected her to take the money.”
“He expected your mother to fight with him.”
“Why?”
Richard pulled out one final document.
A letter.
The handwriting was shaky.
Old.
Evan read it.
Then read it again.
His eyes filled with tears.
Natalie watched his lips move silently.
Finally he said:
“He knew she was going to sell the company.”
Diane closed her eyes.
Richard nodded.
“And he left instructions.”
“What instructions?”
Richard looked at Natalie.
“The house was never supposed to belong to your mother.”
Natalie frowned.
“Then who?”
Richard's gaze moved to Evan.
“You.”
Evan stared at him.
“I already own it.”
“Not entirely.”
Richard pointed to the legal document.
“The trust owns the remaining interest.”
Natalie read the clause.
Her heart raced.
There was a second beneficiary.
She looked at the name.
Her own.
“Natalie?”
Richard nodded.
“Your grandfather added you after the marriage.”
Evan looked stunned.
“Why?”
Richard took a breath.
“Because he believed your mother would try to take control of your life through the house.”
Diane suddenly screamed.
“That was never supposed to happen!”
Natalie jumped.
Diane grabbed the edge of the table.
“You don't understand!”
“Then explain.”
“I didn't know he changed the trust.”
Richard stared at her.
“You knew enough to steal from it.”
“I thought I was the only beneficiary.”
Evan looked at her.
“You didn't even know what belonged to me.”
Diane's tears fell.
“I thought I was fixing everything.”
Evan took the documents.
He stepped toward the door.
“We're leaving.”
Diane looked terrified.
“Evan, don't.”
He didn't stop.
“What happens now?” Natalie asked.
Richard answered quietly.
“Now you need an attorney.”
They stepped outside.
The Thanksgiving air was cold.
Natalie held the folder against her chest.
Evan stood beside her.
“I'm sorry.”
She looked at him.
“For what?”
“For all of it.”
She reached for his hand.
He took it.
Then his phone buzzed.
A new message.
From an unknown number.
The message contained only one sentence.
Diane doesn't know I still have the original.
Attached was a photograph.
Natalie opened it.
It was a picture of another document.
At the bottom was a signature.
May you like
Her own.
But Natalie had never signed it.
