Chapter 8 - THE LAWYER MISSING PAGE
I showed Helen the warning without disguising my doubt.
She read it twice.
"You should absolutely ask why someone says that," she replied.
I asked whether she had known about Marianne Bell.
"Yes," she said.
The admission struck like another betrayal.
Helen explained that Thomas had given her the court paperwork as part of his estate planning.
She had considered it protected information while he lived.
After his death, she had been bound by the scope of her professional duties and the terms of his instructions, though she now acknowledged she should have urged him to be honest with me.
"Did you conceal a daughter?"
"I concealed an unresolved allegation. The distinction matters, even if it doesn't make you less hurt."
Helen handed me a copy of the original letter.
I noticed page four was numbered six.
Two pages had been removed.
Helen stared at the gap.
"That wasn't how I filed it."
We compared it with an inventory sheet.
The sealed envelope had been opened years earlier for a permitted administrative review after Thomas died.
A staff member had signed the log.
Her name was June Caldwell.
My neighbor.
"June worked here?" I whispered.
"Part-time, briefly. I knew her as a records assistant before I knew she was your friend."
Suddenly the casseroles and casual visits felt less simple.
Helen notified her firm's compliance officer and preserved the file access logs.
I asked her to arrange independent counsel for me, because I could no longer separate affection from risk.
To her credit, she agreed immediately.
That evening David helped me find another lawyer, Michael Chen.
Michael's first instruction was simple.
"No more private meetings with anyone connected to the missing records."
His second instruction stunned me.
"Your daughter has filed a petition claiming you're unable to manage your affairs."
Sarah had been home less than two days.
May you like
And she was already trying to take away my voice.
