Chapter 7 - The Missing Red Folder
Snow sealed the mountain roads overnight.
The weather made the lodge feel like an island of warmth surrounded by a dangerous white sea.
At dawn, I called my neighbor in Denver, Helen Brooks, and asked her to look for the red estate folder in my study.
She had a spare key for emergencies, and I trusted her with the things I would not entrust to family simply because they were family.
Thirty minutes later she called back.
"Elaine, the desk drawer's empty."
I gripped the phone.
"There should be a red folder behind the insurance binder."
"There's an outline in the dust where something sat, but no folder."
I thanked her and asked her not to touch anything else.
Then I called Rebecca.
"That folder contained copies of the trust and a letter Thomas wrote before his last surgery," I said.
"We have certified copies," she assured me. "But the timing is concerning."
Daniel overheard me.
"Madison stayed at your house in May," he said slowly.
I remembered.
She had brought flowers, offered to sort holiday decorations, and insisted I take a long lunch with Helen.
At the time I'd considered it an unexpected kindness.
Now the memory seemed carefully staged.
Lily arrived carrying a picture she'd drawn of me beside a huge hotel with stars above the roof.
"I made the windows gold," she said, "because this is your house, too."
I pinned it to the refrigerator.
Then Daniel received a call from his bank.
He listened in stunned silence.
"What overdraft?" he asked.
A second later he said, "That's impossible. We have more than enough in savings."
When he hung up, he told me that their joint account had been nearly emptied.
Madison had transferred the funds to a business holding account three days earlier.
"How much?" I asked.
He swallowed.
"A hundred and sixty thousand dollars."
The family vacation had suddenly become the least of his worries.
Marcus appeared at the doorway with one more piece of news.
Security footage showed Madison entering the executive records office after midnight.
May you like
She had used a staff access card that did not belong to her.
