Chapter 2: The Arrival of the Attorney
Chapter 2: The Arrival of the Attorney
Claire pulled out her phone, her fingers flying across the screen. But before she could dial, a deep, authoritative male voice echoed from the doorway.
“No need. I’m already here.”
All three women turned.
Daniel Hayes, Eleanor Whitmore’s long-time private attorney, stepped into the room. He wore a plain, sharply tailored black suit and carried a worn leather briefcase. His expression was stern, his jaw set. His eyes moved past the furious faces of Victoria and Claire before settling gently on Emily.
“Miss Emily,” he said slowly, ignoring the sisters entirely. “Mrs. Eleanor instructed me that once the key was given to you, I was to take you home immediately.”
Victoria stiffened, her posture turning defensive. “Home? What home?”
Mr. Daniel looked straight at her, his eyes cold. “The Whitmore estate.”
Claire burst into a bitter, incredulous laughter. “Are you joking? That is our mother’s house. And now that she’s gone, it belongs to us by blood.”
The lawyer did not respond right away. He simply unbuckled his leather briefcase, reached inside, and pulled out a sealed, heavy cream-colored envelope. Eleanor’s distinctive signature was written boldly across the wax seal.
“No,” Daniel said, his voice dropping to a calm, devastating register. “That house does not belong to you two. At least, not anymore.”
The air in the hospital room turned completely icy.
Emily looked down at the bronze key, her heart pounding so hard it hurt. Everything was moving too quickly: her mother’s final breath, the key bearing her name, the mysterious text message, the greedy eyes of the biological daughters, and now a lawyer holding a sealed will.
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She did not know what "that room" was. She only knew that her mother had used the absolute last of her fading strength to give her this key.
If her mother’s phone said not to let them open it, Emily would protect it with her life.
