Give to Emily.
I looked up at Mark. “Why didn’t you call me sooner?”
He swallowed. “He asked me to wait until after the funeral. I should’ve called sooner anyway. Then Grace came by asking whether Liam left anything in the safe, and I knew I’d already waited too long.”
My stomach dropped.
Inside the envelope were bank records, photos, and a note.
The note began, “Em, if you’re reading this, then they finally got to me. Please don’t trust Grace.”
The next line was worse.
I stopped breathing for a second.
The next line was worse.
“Grace has been stealing from money meant for the kids, and Ryan knows I found out.”
I read it three times.
There were copies of old estate records from after our mother died. Grace had insisted on handling most of the paperwork because she was “better with forms.” I had let her. According to Liam’s notes, she had been skimming money from my share before the rest was moved into the education fund we set up for Ava and Ben. Liam found it while helping me with taxes.
Then I found the line that made my hands start shaking.
He had written: I didn’t tell you until I had proof. I knew what accusing your sister would do to you.
There were also photos of Grace meeting Ryan behind Liam’s office.
Ryan was Grace’s ex-husband. According to Grace, he had been out of the picture for years.
Liam’s next note said that was a lie.
Ryan had come back broke and desperate after a failed business deal. He owed money to men he was scared of. Grace had been feeding him money, telling herself she was protecting her daughter from his chaos.
Then I found the line that made my hands shake.
A week before the crash, someone left a note under my wiper: Drop it. Think of your wife.
For one sick second I just stared at her.
At the bottom of the page, Liam had written: If Mark gives you this, go to the storage unit. Toolbox. Underside. Don’t tell Grace.
I looked at Mark. “Did Liam think Ryan would hurt him?”
Mark rubbed a hand over his face. “He hoped not. But he was worried enough to leave me that envelope.”
I drove home in a daze and saw Grace through the kitchen window making pancakes with the kids.
For one sick second I just stared at her.
Then I went in smiling so hard my cheeks hurt.
“Who wants lunch out?” I asked.
Then I went to the bank.
Ava looked up. “Can we get fries?”
“Yes.”
Ben gasped like I had offered him a pony.
Grace frowned. “I thought I was making—”
“I know. Thank you.” I kept smiling. “I just need to get them out for a bit.”
I took the kids with me first. I dropped them at our neighbor Nina’s house and said I had errands and might cry in public if she asked questions. She hugged me and took them inside.
That explained why Grace had been hovering over me ever since the funeral.
Then I went to the bank.
My name was on the children’s account too, so the manager was allowed to show me the file. Liam had frozen it two days before he died. No withdrawals without me present.
That explained why Grace had been hovering over me ever since the funeral.
She wasn’t just helping.
She was waiting.
From the bank, I drove to the storage unit Liam and I had rented years ago.
I played the recorder first.
Taped under the old toolbox, exactly where he said, were a flash drive, another envelope, and a voice recorder.
I played the recorder first.
Liam’s voice came through calm and tired. “You have one week to tell Emily yourself.”
Grace was crying. “I said I’m going to fix it.”
“With what money?” Liam asked.
Then Ryan spoke, flat and ugly. “Stay out of it.”
Liam answered, “Emily and those kids are my family. You do not get to touch what belongs to them.”
That night I set a trap.
Grace’s voice came back, panicked now. “Ryan, stop.”
The recording cut off.
I sat there on the concrete floor with my hand over my mouth.
For weeks, part of me had wondered whether Liam had hidden something from me.
He hadn’t.
He had been protecting us.
That night I set a trap.
Grace opened the folder.
I told Grace I’d found some paperwork from Liam’s office and didn’t understand any of it. I said I was too exhausted to deal with legal stuff and asked if she could look through it after dinner.
She tried to sound casual. “Sure.”
I left copies of the papers on the dining table and went into the hallway with my phone.
Grace opened the folder. I watched her face lose all color.
Then she grabbed her phone and made a call.
The second Ryan answered, she whispered, “She has it. Liam kept copies. I told you he would.”
For a long moment, neither of us said anything.
I stepped into the room.
Grace dropped the phone.
For a long moment, neither of us said anything.
Then she whispered, “Emily.”
“No.”
Tears filled her eyes instantly. “Please let me explain.”
“You can start with this. Did you steal from my children?”
She looked up at me, broken and angry at once.
She sat down hard. “I was going to put it back.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
She looked up at me, broken and angry at once. “Ryan came back with debts and threats and promises. He said if I didn’t help him, he’d drag Mia into his mess. I panicked.”
