Chapter 6 - THE BLUE FOLDER
The blue folder contained details of our estate before Patricia's death, including notes she had written during the last months of her life.
Only two people knew it existed.
Patricia and me.
The safe's combination had been the date we met, a day my wife had written inside our wedding album.
I now regretted keeping that album in plain sight.
The police took a report, and Daniel asked that relevant camera footage, invoices, and documents be preserved.
I refused to turn my home into a stage for shouting.
Rachel, Justin, Brittany, and Adam were asked to leave until the question of access could be resolved.
Rachel held her coat closed with trembling fingers.
"You choose strangers over your own daughter."
"I choose people who don't forge my signature," I replied.
She stared at me as if I had slapped her.
"Can you prove that?"
"We'll find out."
Brittany stayed behind after the others walked away.
For years she had been the quietest, the one who accepted help with an embarrassed smile and never made speeches about independence.
"Dad, I didn't know about the lock change," she whispered.
"But you knew about Operation Deed."
Tears filled her eyes.
"I thought it was just an estate planning discussion. Then Rachel started talking about the doctor."
"Why didn't you call me?"
"Because Eleanor has something on me."
I waited.
"I used money from the scholarship account you established for my daughter to cover a business debt. I intended to replace it."
The admission hurt more than I expected.
"You could have told me."
"I know."
"Have you replaced it?"
She shook her head.
I called Daniel back into the room.
Brittany looked frightened, but I would not promise to conceal another financial deception.
We arranged independent advice for her and protection of the remaining scholarship funds.
Before leaving, she touched my sleeve.
"Eleanor told us that Mom left instructions in the blue folder."
"What instructions?"
"That if you refused to sell, we should show you the recording."
My mouth went dry.
"What recording?"
Brittany glanced toward the empty safe.
"A recording of Mom asking you not to tell the police."
She slipped a flash drive into my palm.
"This is a copy. I didn't watch it."
When she left, Daniel and I sat at the kitchen island.
We opened the file on an offline computer.
Patricia appeared on the screen, pale in her hospital bed.
She looked directly at the camera.
May you like
And the first words she spoke were, "Bruce, if you're watching this, someone has betrayed me."
