CHAPTER 4 — My Grandmother's Last Secret
CHAPTER 4 — My Grandmother's Last Secret
I held the envelope carefully.
It felt strangely heavy.
As if it contained more than paper.
My fingers trembled while breaking the seal.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
The first line stole the air from my lungs.
My dearest Elise, if you're reading this, then you've finally escaped the people I feared would find you first.
I looked at Piper.
Neither of us spoke.
I kept reading.
There are people who will smile while calculating your worth. Never confuse kindness with intention.
Tears blurred the ink.
Every sentence sounded like my grandmother was speaking directly to me.
The journal beneath the letter contained decades of entries.
Most described ordinary life.
Gardening.
Church.
Birthdays.
Then the tone changed.
One entry, written nine years earlier, caught my eye.
A young man visited today asking questions about Elise. He knew far too much. His smile frightened me.
The date made my stomach tighten.
It was nearly a year before I had officially met Gregory.
I flipped faster.
Another entry.
His name is Gregory Lawson. He claims to have met Elise by chance. I don't believe him.
Piper stared.
"Wait..."
"You hadn't even started dating him yet."
"I know."
Cold fear crept through me.
The next pages became darker.
Gregory keeps appearing wherever Elise goes. Grocery store. Library. Church fair. Coincidences don't happen this often.
Another.
Someone searched through my office while I attended Bible study. Nothing was stolen, but legal papers were disturbed.
Then another.
If anything happens to me, Arthur must protect Elise until she's strong enough to protect herself.
I closed the journal.
My heartbeat thundered.
Gregory hadn't stumbled into my life.
He had hunted me.
Piper whispered,
"This wasn't an accident."
"No."
"It was a plan."
For years.
Maybe longer.
Suddenly my phone rang.
An unknown number.
Again.
I answered cautiously.
"Hello?"
The voice was shaky.
Female.
"E-Elise?"
"Yes?"
"My name is Donna."
"I worked as Catherine's housekeeper."
I frowned.
"How did you get this number?"
"Arthur gave it to me."
"I've been trying to find the courage to call."
My pulse quickened.
"What is it?"
Donna began crying.
"I can't keep the secret anymore."
"What secret?"
"The night your grandmother died..."
Everything inside me froze.
"...Gregory and Catherine were there."
I gripped the phone tighter.
"That's impossible."
"No."
"I saw them."
"They argued with Margaret for nearly an hour."
"About what?"
Donna whispered the answer.
"About you."
My knees nearly gave out.
Donna agreed to meet us that evening.
She arrived carrying a faded cardboard box.
"I should've gone to the police years ago."
Inside were old photographs.
Receipts.
Copies of handwritten notes.
One photograph showed Gregory's car parked outside my grandmother's home the night before her death.
Another showed Catherine entering through the back gate.
The timestamps were undeniable.
"They told everyone they were at a charity banquet," Donna said.
"They lied."
Then Donna reached into the bottom of the box.
"There was one more thing."
She handed me a tiny digital recorder.
"I found this hidden beneath Margaret's desk after she died."
"I was too afraid to listen."
Arthur had restored the battery earlier that afternoon after Donna contacted him.
He pressed Play.
Static filled the room.
Then voices.
Margaret.
Gregory.
Catherine.
Gregory's voice came through clearly.
"If Elise signs after we're married, everything becomes simple."
My blood turned to ice.
Then Catherine laughed.
"She's naïve enough to trust you."
The recording ended with a loud crash...
...and Margaret screaming one sentence.
"You'll never steal my granddaughter's future!"
Silence filled the room.
Piper slowly looked at me.
"This isn't just fraud anymore."
Arthur nodded gravely.
"No."
"This could become a criminal investigation."
At that exact moment, headlights swept across the front windows.
A black SUV stopped outside the house.
Someone stepped out.
Then another.
Three figures slowly walked toward the front porch.
Arthur looked through the curtain.
May you like
His face lost all color.
"They found you."
