Chapter 6 - The Door Opens
Rachel forced herself to sound confused.
“What is happening?”
Mark lifted both hands. “I can explain.”
“Then explain why our daughter is sleeping on the floor.”
“It’s temporary.”
“Who are these men?”
“Contractors.”
The stranger laughed once under his breath.
Rachel looked past them. Emily’s bedroom door remained open. The dresser had been pulled apart. The bed leaned against the wall. Dark gaps showed where floorboards had been removed.
A black metal case sat in the center of the room.
Rachel took one slow step toward the hallway.
Mark blocked her.
“This belonged to your grandfather,” he said. “He hid it in the house before he died.”
“This house belonged to my mother.”
“And now it belongs to us.”
“No. It belongs to me.”
His jaw tightened.
There it was.
The truth beneath every soft apology and borrowed dollar.
Mark had never believed Rachel’s inheritance was hers.
The second man emerged from the bedroom carrying the case.
“We need the code,” he said.
Mark looked at Rachel. “Open it.”
“I don’t know how.”
“Your grandfather left you clues.”
“I never found any clues.”
“You found a letter.”
Rachel’s heart kicked.
He had read the letter.
Mark stepped closer. “I know there are account records in that case. Property deeds. Deposit certificates. Maybe cash. Your grandfather moved assets before he died, and your mother hid them.”
“You searched my files.”
“I protected our family.”
“You robbed it.”
His expression hardened.
The man with the case shifted impatiently.
“Police could pass this street any minute.”
Mark looked toward the front door.
Rachel understood then that they planned to leave with the case, whether she helped them or not.
May you like
So she reached into her pocket.
And began recording.
