Chapter 12 - My Grandmother’s Voice
The envelope contained a flash drive.
Nothing else.
Alexander found an old computer with a USB port.
We gathered around the desk.
My mother refused to move closer.
I inserted the drive.
There was one video file.
The date was eight days before my grandmother’s stroke.
I clicked play.
My grandmother appeared on the screen.
She was sitting in her kitchen.
Her gray hair was neatly pinned.
Her voice was steady.
“My name is Margaret Louise Bennett.”
She stated the date.
Then she looked directly into the camera.
“I am recording this because my daughter-in-law Catherine has begun telling people that I am confused.”
My father covered his mouth.
Lucas stared at the floor.
My grandmother continued.
“I am not confused.”
“I am angry.”
Even Alexander almost smiled at that.
Then she explained everything.
She discovered forty thousand dollars missing from my trust.
She confronted my mother.
Catherine claimed it had been temporarily used for Lucas’s tuition.
My grandmother demanded repayment.
My mother refused.
Then my grandmother discovered additional withdrawals.
She contacted Evelyn Price.
She planned to remove Catherine as trustee.
She planned to notify me personally.
The recording ended with words I will never forget.
“Emily has spent her whole life being told she needs less because Lucas deserves more.”
“That ends with me.”
My vision blurred.
“Whatever happens after this recording, the money and shares belong to Emily.”
“Not because she is my favorite.”
“Because they are hers.”
The video ended.
Nobody moved.
My mother was the first to speak.
“She hated me.”
I looked at her in disbelief.
“That is what you heard?”
“She always judged me.”
My father stood.
“Catherine.”
“She did.”
My mother’s voice rose.
“She thought I was a bad mother.”
Lucas looked at her.
“Were you?”
The question stopped her.
My brother stepped closer.
“You stole from Emily to pay for me.”
“You lied to me.”
“You lied to Dad.”
“You told Emily Grandma’s money was gone.”
“You tried to have Grandma declared incompetent when she caught you.”
My mother’s eyes filled with tears.
“For you.”
Lucas shook his head.
“Stop saying that.”
She stared at him.
“I did everything for you.”
“No.”
His voice became steady.
“You did everything so you could say you saved me.”
My mother seemed to shrink.
The clock on the wall read two-fifteen.
Lucas’s wedding began at four.
His phone rang.
Sophie.
He looked at me before answering.
“Hi.”
We could not hear what she said.
Lucas closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Another pause.
“I understand.”
He ended the call.
My father asked.
“What happened?”
Lucas looked toward the window.
“Sophie wants to see me before the ceremony.”
My mother immediately straightened.
“Good.”
Lucas turned toward her.
“She asked me to come alone.”
Then his phone buzzed with a message.
He read it.
His face changed.
“What?”
I asked.
Lucas handed me the phone.
Sophie had sent a photograph.
It showed a document lying across her bridal dressing table.
A prenuptial agreement.
May you like
My supposed signature appeared at the bottom as a witness.
I had never seen that document either.
