Chapter 7
I spent my first night at Grandpa's house reading letters.
There were dozens.
Birthday wishes.
School encouragement.
Stories about Grandma Eleanor.
Photographs of family vacations.
Every envelope contained proof that someone had been thinking about me.
For six years, I believed Grandpa had forgotten me.
Now I realized he had been trying to reach me the entire time.
I sat on the bedroom floor surrounded by letters.
Then I found one from my fifteenth birthday.
My dear Maya,
I hope you're still asking impossible questions and building wonderful things.
My eyes filled.
Grandpa wrote about a telescope Grandma Eleanor had bought before she died.
He said it was waiting for me whenever I wanted it.
I looked toward the closet.
There, leaning against the wall, was a long wrapped box.
I opened it carefully.
Inside was a beautiful telescope.
A note from Grandma rested beneath it.
For my little scientist. Never stop looking up.
I began crying.
Not quiet tears.
The kind that made my chest hurt.
I had spent years believing I was unwanted.
And all this time, love had been waiting behind a door nobody allowed me to open.
Grandpa found me there.
He sat beside me.
For a long time, he said nothing.
Then I whispered,
"Why didn't you fight harder?"
His face crumpled.
"I tried through attorneys and family meetings."
I looked at him.
He continued.
"But Calvin had legal authority over where you lived, and I didn't have evidence that would justify removing you."
I swallowed.
He took my hand.
"I should have found another way to make sure you knew I loved you."
I looked at the letters.
Then at him.
"You're here now."
He smiled through tears.
"Yes."
I hugged him.
For the first time in years, I felt like someone's little girl again.
The next morning, Olivia Grant arrived.
She carried several folders.
Grandpa asked me to join them at the kitchen table.
I sat down nervously.
Olivia smiled gently.
"Maya, we're beginning a formal review of the trust."
I nodded.
She continued.
"We've confirmed that several expenses submitted by your father were unsupported."
My stomach tightened.
"How many?"
"More than thirty transactions require further investigation."
I stared.
Thirty.
Not one mistake.
Not one emergency.
A pattern.
Olivia opened another page.
"We've also confirmed the lake house remains part of your mother's trust."
My eyes filled.
"And nobody can sell it?"
"Not without meeting the trust's legal requirements. We're seeking court orders to prevent unauthorized transfers while the matter is reviewed."
I exhaled.
Then she looked serious.
"There's another issue."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"Someone recently attempted to refinance the property."
I stared.
"The lake house?"
She nodded.
"Using documents that appear to contain your signature."
My hands began shaking.
"I never signed anything like that."
Olivia nodded.
"We suspected as much."
I remembered the paperwork Dad made me sign six months earlier.
My stomach turned.
"Could those forms have been used?"
"Possibly. We're comparing them."
Grandpa's face hardened.
"Who submitted the application?"
Olivia hesitated.
"Whitmore Family Investments."
Diane's maiden name.
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
Diane had tried to use my mother's house as collateral.
The last place where I remembered being completely happy.
My hands curled into fists.
"How much money?"
Olivia looked at me.
"Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars."
I stared at her.
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
Then I began laughing.
A horrible, broken laugh.
Diane had spent years calling me greedy.
She accused me of wanting handouts.
She told me I cared too much about money.
And now she had tried to borrow hundreds of thousands against property that belonged to me.
Grandpa reached for my hand.
"Maya."
I shook my head.
"I'm okay."
But I wasn't.
I was angry.
More angry than I had ever been.
Not because of the amount.
Because of the cruelty.
Diane had taken so much from me.
My room.
My father's attention.
My confidence.
My mother's belongings.
My relationship with Grandpa.
And even after all that, she wanted more.
I looked at Olivia.
"What can I do?"
She smiled slightly.
"Tell the truth. Preserve your records. And let us handle the legal process."
I nodded.
I was ready.
That afternoon, Principal Claire called.
The school's internal investigation had concluded.
Patricia Reed admitted providing unauthorized access to academic records.
She also acknowledged helping create the false transcript.
The school had removed her from her position and referred the evidence to appropriate authorities.
My heart pounded.
"Did she say why?"
Claire hesitated.
"She said Diane promised to help finance a consulting business."
I closed my eyes.
Money again.
Everything seemed to lead back to Diane's ambition.
Principal Claire continued.
"Your scholarship remains fully valid. The committee has also completed an independent recheck."
I swallowed.
"And?"
She smiled.
"You still ranked first."
I began crying.
"Thank you."
Claire's voice softened.
"Maya, you earned this."
I held the phone tightly.
For once, I believed it without needing someone else to convince me.
A few minutes later, Brianna called.
I hesitated before answering.
"Hello?"
Her voice sounded frightened.
"Maya?"
"What happened?"
"Mom knows I talked to you."
My stomach tightened.
"And?"
Brianna began crying.
"She took my phone."
I frowned.
"How are you calling?"
"From a friend's phone."
I stood.
"Are you safe?"
She hesitated.
"Yes. But she says I ruined everything."
I closed my eyes.
I knew those words.
Diane used them whenever someone refused to obey.
Brianna continued.
"She told me if I testify, she'll stop paying for college."
My chest tightened.
I remembered how frightened I had been of losing my home.
Now Brianna was experiencing the same fear.
I took a breath.
"Brianna, tell Principal Claire or another trusted adult what's happening."
She sniffed.
"I already told the school counselor."
Relief washed through me.
"Good."
Then she whispered,
"Maya, there's something I need to give you."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"A recording."
I froze.
"Of what?"
She hesitated.
"Mom and your dad."
My heart pounded.
"When?"
"The night before the scholarship ceremony."
I swallowed.
"What were they saying?"
Brianna began crying harder.
"Mom told him that if you won the scholarship, you'd finally escape."
I closed my eyes.
Then she whispered,
"And Dad said they couldn't let that happen."
My knees weakened.
I gripped the table.
Brianna continued.
"Maya, they weren't only trying to steal your award."
My heart hammered.
"What else?"
She took a shaky breath.
"They were planning to have you declared unable to manage your inheritance."
I stared at the wall.
May you like
Then she said the words that made my blood run cold.
"Mom already found a doctor willing to sign the paperwork."
