Chapter 4 - Natalie’s Envelope
Rebecca arrived an hour later.
She carried one envelope.
No briefcase.
No dramatic stack of evidence.
Just Natalie’s handwriting across the front.
FOR ETHAN — ONLY IF HE FINDS THE AMENDMENT.
Corinne immediately stood.
“This is insane.”
Rebecca looked at her.
“You should leave.”
“This is my house.”
Ethan said quietly:
“Not for much longer if you don’t tell me the truth.”
Corinne went still.
Rebecca handed Ethan the envelope.
His fingers hesitated at the seal.
For eleven months he had avoided opening Natalie’s old emails.
Avoided moving her clothes.
Avoided touching the last coffee mug she used.
Now he was holding something she had written specifically for a future she apparently feared.
He opened it.
Inside was a single page.
Ethan,
If you’re reading this, then I was right.
Do not assume the first forged document is the only one.
Check the beneficiary designation on Maisie’s trust.
Check the medical power of attorney.
And do not let Corinne take Maisie anywhere alone.
Ethan stopped breathing.
Corinne whispered:
“She was sick.”
Rebecca looked at her.
“No. She was careful.”
Ethan kept reading.
Natalie explained that she had discovered unauthorized access to several family accounts.
She believed somebody was trying to redirect control if something happened to both her and Ethan.
But she had not yet proved who.
Then came the sentence that made Ethan’s blood run cold.
Corinne knows where the originals are.
He looked up.
Corinne’s face emptied.
“Where?”
She shook her head.
“Natalie was manipulating you.”
“Where are the originals?”
“I don’t know.”
Rebecca reached into her coat.
“I may.”
She placed a copy of an inventory sheet on the table.
Natalie had documented three original documents stored in a private safe-deposit box.
Trust deed.
Medical directive.
Custody designation.
All three had been removed two days before Natalie died.
Access log:
Corinne Hale.
Corinne’s maiden name.
Ethan stared at her.
“You entered Natalie’s safe-deposit box?”
“I had permission.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“No, you didn’t.”
Corinne’s composure cracked.
“She gave me the key.”
“Then show us the authorization.”
Corinne had none.
Maisie, who had been sitting quietly beside Ethan, suddenly whispered:
“Green bag.”
Everyone turned.
Ethan knelt beside her.
“What green bag?”
Maisie pointed toward Corinne.
“She put Mommy’s papers in green bag.”
Corinne’s face went completely white.
Ethan stood.
May you like
Corinne had told him Maisie was too young to remember Natalie’s final weeks.
Apparently, she remembered more than anyone realized.
