Chapter 6 - The Secret Hidden in My Mother's Room
I barely slept that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I heard Nia's warning.
Seven days.
Vanessa needed seven days.
For what?
I sat on my bed staring at my packed suitcase.
Tomorrow, Dad and I were supposed to fly to Hawaii.
I should have been excited.
Instead, I felt trapped between happiness and fear.
Around midnight, someone knocked.
"Dad?"
He opened the door.
"You're still awake?"
I nodded.
"Can we talk?"
He sat beside me.
I told him everything Nia had said.
His expression grew serious.
"She mentioned seven days?"
"Yes."
Dad looked toward the hallway.
Then he took out his phone.
"I'm calling Thomas."
I watched him explain the conversation.
Thomas asked several questions.
Dad answered quietly.
Then he ended the call.
"What did he say?" I whispered.
"He wants us to preserve any records connected to Vanessa's recent activities."
I frowned.
"Are we still going to Hawaii?"
Dad looked at me.
"Yes."
I stared at him.
"But what if she does something while we're gone?"
He squeezed my hand.
"Thomas will work with the appropriate people to protect the property and accounts."
I swallowed.
"How?"
Dad explained that the bank had already restricted questionable access.
The cottage management company had been instructed not to accept unauthorized requests.
And the family attorney was preparing additional legal safeguards.
I listened carefully.
Then I asked the question that had been hurting me all evening.
"Dad, are you going to stay married to her?"
He froze.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he looked at me.
"Maya, I can't continue this marriage the way things are."
My eyes filled.
"Because of the money?"
He shook his head.
"Because of how she treated you."
I stared at him.
He continued.
"The money matters. The dishonesty matters."
His voice cracked.
"But nothing matters more than the fact that you were afraid in your own home."
I started crying.
Dad wrapped his arms around me.
I let him.
For a long time, we sat together.
I hadn't realized how badly I needed that moment.
Then Dad whispered.
"There's something else I want to show you."
I looked up.
"What?"
He stood.
"Come with me."
We walked down the hallway.
Past the guest bedrooms.
Past the family portraits.
Then stopped outside a room I hadn't entered in three years.
My mother's old study.
Vanessa had locked it after the wedding.
She claimed the room was full of unnecessary clutter.
I had begged to retrieve Mom's belongings.
She always refused.
Dad removed a key from his pocket.
My heart raced.
"Where did you get that?"
He looked ashamed.
"It was in my desk the whole time."
He unlocked the door.
The room smelled faintly of old books.
Moonlight fell across a large wooden desk.
My mother's desk.
Her reading chair.
Her favorite lamp.
Everything looked almost exactly as I remembered.
Except for the dust.
I stepped inside.
"Mom..."
My voice broke.
Dad stood quietly behind me.
I walked toward the bookshelf.
A framed photograph sat near the window.
Mom and me.
I was seven.
She held me on her lap while we laughed at something outside the picture.
I picked it up.
Tears rolled down my cheeks.
"I thought Vanessa threw this away."
Dad shook his head.
"She moved everything in here."
I looked around.
For three years, this room had been hidden from me.
Not destroyed.
Not gone.
Just locked away.
I opened the desk drawer.
Inside were notebooks, envelopes, and old photographs.
Then I noticed something strange.
A small wooden box sat beneath a stack of papers.
It had my name carved into the lid.
MAYA.
My heart pounded.
I lifted it carefully.
There was a tiny brass lock.
Dad leaned closer.
"Do you know where the key is?"
I shook my head.
Then I remembered something.
Mom's silver necklace.
The one I always wore.
It had a tiny key-shaped pendant.
I touched my neck.
Could it be?
I removed the necklace.
Carefully, I placed the pendant inside the lock.
It turned.
Click.
The box opened.
Inside was a folded letter.
A photograph.
And a small USB drive.
My hands shook.
I opened the letter first.
"My sweet Maya,
If you are reading this, you are old enough to understand that life doesn't always happen the way we hope.
But I want you to know something important.
You were the greatest joy of my life."
I began sobbing.
Dad sat beside me.
I continued reading.
"I have arranged something special for your eighteenth birthday.
A place where the ocean meets the sky.
A place where I hope you will someday feel peaceful, loved, and free."
I smiled through my tears.
Hawaii.
The cottage.
Mom had planned everything.
Then I reached the final paragraph.
"If anyone ever makes you feel unwelcome in your own home, remember this: you belong wherever you are loved.
Never allow another person's cruelty to convince you that you are less important than anyone else."
I pressed the letter against my chest.
Dad wiped his eyes.
Then I picked up the USB drive.
A small label was attached.
FOR MARCUS AND MAYA.
Dad frowned.
"I've never seen that before."
My heart raced.
We went to his office.
He connected the drive to his computer.
A single video file appeared.
The date showed it had been recorded shortly before Mom died.
Dad clicked play.
My mother's face appeared on the screen.
She was sitting in a hospital room.
Her hair was covered with a soft scarf.
But her smile was unmistakable.
"Hello, my loves."
I covered my mouth.
Her voice filled the room.
"I know this is going to be difficult to watch."
Dad began crying.
Mom continued.
"But there are things I need you both to know."
She paused.
Then looked directly into the camera.
"Marcus, please promise me something."
My father leaned forward.
"Anything," he whispered.
Her next words made my entire body tremble.
"Never let anyone convince you that our daughter is a burden."
Dad covered his face.
Mom smiled sadly.
"And Maya, sweetheart, if you're watching this, I want you to know that the house in Hawaii belongs to you."
I started crying harder.
Then her expression changed.
"There's one more thing."
She glanced toward someone outside the camera.
"I've asked my attorney to keep certain documents safe."
Dad slowly lowered his hands.
Mom continued.
"If those documents are ever needed, they will explain why I changed the original terms of my estate."
I frowned.
Changed the terms?
What did that mean?
Mom looked back into the camera.
"Marcus, I'm trusting you to protect our daughter from anyone who might try to take advantage of her inheritance."
The video ended.
Silence filled the office.
Dad stared at the screen.
Then he whispered.
"Elizabeth changed her will?"
I looked at him.
"What original terms?"
He shook his head.
"I don't know."
His phone rang.
Thomas.
Dad answered immediately.
Before he could speak, Thomas said something that made his face turn white.
"Marcus, I found the documents."
Dad gripped the phone.
"What documents?"
Thomas's voice was urgent.
"The amendments Elizabeth signed before her death."
A pause.
Then he continued.
"And Vanessa has been trying to obtain a copy for weeks."
I stared at Dad.
He looked at me with shock.
Thomas said one final sentence.
"Marcus, there's a reason she wanted you and Maya out of the house."
My stomach dropped.
"Why?" Dad asked.
May you like
Thomas answered.
"Because she knows where Elizabeth hid the original deed."
