Nobody spoke for several seconds.
The paper remained between my fingers.
Thomas Vale's son is sitting at your table.
Daniel finally whispered, “There are five of us.”
Grandma looked at him.
“Yes.”
Marlene stepped backward.
“Which one?”
Grandma didn't answer.
Frank's face had gone red.
“You knew?”
She looked at him.
“I suspected.”
“That isn't the same thing.”
“No,” Grandma said. “It isn't.”
Another crash sounded upstairs.
This time, something heavy struck the floor.
Daniel raised the flashlight.
“Who isn't telling us the truth?”
Grandma looked toward the cellar door.
Then she said something I never expected.
“None of you knew your real fathers.”
Marlene stared at her.
“What?”
Grandma shook her head.
“I don't mean that the men who raised you weren't your fathers. I mean the records were deliberately altered.”
She opened another folder.
Inside were birth certificates.
Five of them.
Each had been photocopied, annotated, and stamped with dates.
I recognized my own name.
My father's name had been listed normally.
But beside it, in red ink, someone had written:
Original record sealed.
My hands went cold.
“Why?”
Grandma sat down.
“Because Samuel believed Victor was trying to identify Thomas's descendants.”
Daniel looked at her.
“So the beneficiaries were hidden.”
“Yes.”
“And you know who Thomas's son is?”
“I know who I believe he is.”
The room went silent again.
Grandma reached into the box and removed a photograph.
It showed five children standing outside the farmhouse.
They were between six and ten years old.
I recognized myself.
Daniel was beside me.
Marlene's daughter stood near the fence.
Frank's son was holding a baseball.
The fifth child was someone I didn't recognize.
He had dark hair and a small scar near his eyebrow.
Grandma pointed to him.
“His name was Michael.”
Daniel stared at the photograph.
“Who is Michael?”
Grandma swallowed.
“He was Thomas's grandson.”
That didn't make sense.
“If Thomas had a son—”
“He did.”
“Then why have we never heard of him?”
“Because Victor found him first.”
A noise came from upstairs.
This time, we heard a man's voice.
“Ruth!”
Grandma closed the folder.
“Listen carefully.”
We did.
“Thomas's son changed his name. His son changed his too. The family disappeared from every public record I could find.”
She looked directly at me.
“Until six months ago.”
“Who contacted you?”
Grandma didn't answer.
Instead, she reached into her cardigan pocket and pulled out a cell phone.
There was one message on the screen.
I'm ready.
The sender's name was Michael Vale.
Daniel stared.
“You invited him here.”
“Yes.”
“Is he upstairs?”
Grandma shook her head.
“No.”
“Then where is he?”
She looked at me.
“With us.”
I didn't understand.
Then I remembered the Christmas morning.
Five envelopes.
Five checks.
Five names.
And one person who had not been mentioned.
Claire.
My sister.
She had been sitting at the table when the checks were opened.
She had watched everything.
I turned toward the cellar stairs.
“Claire?”
Nobody answered.
Grandma's expression changed.
She knew exactly what I was thinking.
“She's not Thomas's granddaughter.”
The words barely registered.
“What?”
“Claire was adopted.”
I stared at her.
No one had ever told me that.
I had grown up believing she was my biological sister.
Daniel looked stunned.
“Why would you hide that?”
“Because your parents wanted her protected.”
“Protected from what?”
Grandma looked toward the cellar door.
“From Victor.”
The handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
Grandma whispered, “There's something else you need to know.”
I looked at her.
“Tell me.”
She pointed to the wooden box.
“The five-million-dollar checks aren't meant to make you rich.”
“What are they for?”
“They're bait.”
The door handle began turning again.
Grandma's voice dropped to almost nothing.
“Victor doesn't care about the money.”
The door opened an inch.
“He wants what's inside that box.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 5: The Door Opened on an Empty Cellar, Leaving Behind One Missing Person and a Message That Changed Everything They Believed
The Christmas Gift Everyone Thought Was a Joke Until One Envelope Made the Room Go Completely Silent
Part 4 of 20
