Chapter 4

"I object."

Vanessa finally couldn't hold back any longer and stood up.

"Lawyer Bennett, my father-in-law is gone. Supplementary statement, for her eyes only, at the end of the day those are just words on paper. Who's to say it wasn't added later? And even if he really did write it, why is she the only one allowed to read it? Once she's done, whatever she says goes. How are we supposed to know if there's anything in there that hurts us?"

She spoke fast, firing the words off one after another. She had clearly rehearsed all of it in her head long before.

Margaret jumped in at once. "Exactly! A will is supposed to be fair. How can you hide things from the family?"

Bennett set down the papers in his hand, and his voice finally dropped a few degrees.

"First, every document falls within the scope of notarization and official record, with a complete timestamped log and witnessed signatures. Nothing was added or altered afterward. Second, although the supplementary statement is not an independent instrument for disposing of property, it is part of the testator's private expression. Third, at the end of the document, Mr. Whitaker stated explicitly that this statement is to be opened by Ms. Hayes in person after the main body of the will has been read, and that no one else has the right to view it first."

The words no right landed on Vanessa's face like the jab of a needle.

Her chest heaved. She turned to look at Ryan.

"Say something!"

Ryan finally raised his head.

"Say what?" His voice was low, yet it held the room. "Dad wrote it. We do what he said."

Vanessa stared at him as if he were a stranger. "Whose side are you on?"

"My dad's."

The room went silent.

Even Margaret was stunned for a moment.

The next second, she slapped the table. "Ryan, have you lost your mind? Your father's gone, and you're going to let some outsider..."

"She's not an outsider." Ryan cut her off, his eyes red. "For fifteen years, she was the one who took Dad to his doctors. She was the one who bathed him and turned him in bed. She was the one who picked up the hospital's calls at night and ran to the ER. I was out of state. How many times did you come? Aunt Margaret, don't use family ties that are all talk to bully the person who actually did the work."

When he said that, even I was stunned.

All these years, Ryan had always been polite to me, but he had never once stood up for me this openly.

Vanessa's face went white, then red. She opened her mouth but couldn't come up with a reply.

Seeing that things had settled, Bennett took out the kraft-paper envelope on its own and slid it in front of me.

"Ms. Hayes, please confirm that the seal on the envelope is intact."

I looked down.

It was an ordinary kraft envelope, its corners pressed flat. In the bottom right corner were the words To: Eleanor Hayes.

I knew that handwriting better than anyone.

When Richard wrote the E in Eleanor, the last stroke always flicked upward a little. In Hayes, he pressed down hard on the right-hand stroke of the H. Back when we needed groceries, he'd complain that my memory was bad and write the list on a sticky note, then stick it on the fridge door. For fifteen years, I had seen his handwriting more times than I could count.

This time, though, I couldn't bring myself to reach for it.

Bennett continued. "Per procedure, you may choose to open it here or take it with you. However, according to Mr. Whitaker's note, he recommends you read it on the spot. If you agree after reading it, we can then proceed to the next stage of execution."

The next stage of execution.

Those words changed the expression on every face in the room.

Margaret stared at the envelope so hard it seemed she wanted to burn a hole through the paper.

Vanessa went further and took a step forward. "Wait. Fine, she can read it, but we at least get to know what it says, right?"

Bennett ignored her and looked only at me. "Ms. Hayes, it's your decision."

My throat was dry. It took me a long time to reach out.

When my fingertips touched the envelope, it was ice-cold.

So light, and yet so heavy.

I could even smell the faint scent of ink on the paper, like the old ledgers Richard kept in his drawer.

I turned the envelope over. A seal was stuck across the flap on the back, and beside it was a fingerprint he had pressed there. That small patch of red stung my eyes.

There wasn't a sound in the room.

I heard my own tight breathing, the faint rustle of the paper's edge, and Vanessa's quick, uncontrolled breaths.

I tore the seal open bit by bit.

There was more than one sheet inside.

The top page was, as expected, in Richard's handwriting.

I had only read the first line when my hand jerked violently.

When my eyes ran down to the second paragraph, a cold jolt shot down my spine. I felt nailed to the spot, unable even to sit steady.

Ryan shot to his feet. "Aunt Eleanor?"

I opened my mouth, but not a single word came out.

A corner of the letter slipped from my fingers, revealing another attachment pressed underneath. Only half an inch of its edge showed, but that half inch was enough to change the faces of both Margaret and Vanessa at the same moment.

The next second, Vanessa let out a scream. "Impossible!"