CHAPTER 4 — DANIEL'S LAST LETTER
CHAPTER 4 — DANIEL'S LAST LETTER
The room disappeared around me.
I could hear nothing except my own heartbeat.
My eyes moved across Daniel's handwriting.
Every word felt like he was standing beside me again.
Emily...
If this letter reaches you, I'm probably gone.
A tear landed on the page.
I kept reading.
I pray I'm wrong.
But if I'm not...
You need to know my father has been stealing from Grandpa's trust for years.
Gasps filled the dining room.
Daniel continued.
I discovered missing funds while helping Grandpa organize old financial records.
When I questioned Dad, he told me to mind my own business.
When I refused...he reminded me that families survive by keeping secrets.
I looked up.
My father wouldn't meet my eyes.
Daniel's letter continued.
If you're reading this, don't let Sophie grow up believing she wasn't loved.
She was.
She's the best thing that ever happened to me.
Sophie's little hand slipped into mine.
She looked up.
"Was Daddy talking about me?"
I knelt beside her.
"He always was."
She leaned against me without another word.
Leonard cleared his throat.
"There is more."
He handed Jason another envelope.
"This one's addressed to you."
Jason stared in confusion.
"Me?"
"It arrived the same day."
His hands trembled as he opened it.
Inside was another handwritten note.
Jason...
If Dad ever convinces you that you deserve more than I do...don't believe him.
Jason swallowed hard.
His face turned white.
He kept reading silently.
Then suddenly...
He slammed the letter onto the table.
"No."
His voice broke.
"No..."
Everyone stared.
"What?" Aunt Carol whispered.
Jason looked directly at our father.
"You used me."
Richard Parker said nothing.
Jason's eyes filled with tears.
"You told me Daniel wanted me to manage the family assets."
Silence.
"You said he trusted me."
Still silence.
Jason's voice cracked.
"He never said that...did he?"
Our father lowered his head.
For the first time in my life...
Richard Parker looked old.
My mother suddenly stepped forward.
"Richard..."
Her voice was barely audible.
"Tell them this isn't true."
He didn't answer.
She grabbed his arm.
"Tell them!"
Nothing.
The silence was louder than any confession.
Mom slowly let go.
She stepped backward as if she no longer recognized the man she'd spent forty-two years married to.
"You lied to me too..."
Before anyone could speak again, another voice echoed from the hallway.
"Actually..."
Everyone turned.
Standing in the open doorway was a woman in a navy business suit, carrying a leather briefcase and a tablet.
She smiled politely.
"I'm sorry to interrupt Easter dinner."
Then she looked directly at my father.
"Richard Parker?"
His face drained of all remaining color.
"...Yes."
She held up an identification badge.
"My name is Claire Morrison."
"The probate court has appointed me as temporary forensic administrator over the Parker Family Trust."
She paused just long enough for every word to sink in.
"And based on the evidence submitted this afternoon..."
"...I have a court order authorizing an immediate inventory of every trust asset currently under your control."
The room fell into stunned silence once again.
My father whispered only two words.
"No... no..."
May you like
But it was already too late.
The investigation had officially begun—and the secrets buried for years were about to come to light, one by one.
