Chapter 71 - The Name My Father Left BehindI barely slept that night.
Dad's final letter lay open on my bedside table, and the small handwritten name at the bottom continued to trouble me.
Michael.
I had read the letter dozens of times, searching for another explanation. Perhaps Dad had simply mentioned him because he trusted him. Perhaps there was something about the lodge that Michael needed to know.
But the date bothered me.
It was written almost twenty years before Michael had officially become part of our family.
At breakfast, I finally decided to ask.
"Michael, can we talk?"
He looked up from his coffee.
"Of course."
I placed the letter in front of him.
His expression changed when he saw the name.
"Where did you find this?"
"In Dad's metal box. Why?"
He read the final paragraph carefully.
Then he leaned back.
"I think I know what this is about."
My heart began beating faster.
"What do you mean?"
Michael glanced toward Mom.
She was standing near the kitchen counter, pretending to arrange a basket of fruit.
"Your father and I met long before I married your mother."
I stared at him.
"How long before?"
"Almost twenty years."
Mom stopped moving.
Michael continued.
"I was working as an accountant for a small property management company. Your father came to me because he suspected someone had been manipulating the financial records connected to the lodge."
"Was it Caldwell?"
"Not initially. Your father believed the problem was inside the bank."
I looked at the letter.
"Did you discover something?"
Michael nodded.
"I found irregular transfers involving a company that no longer exists. The money eventually led back to Daniel."
Mom slowly turned around.
"Your father never told me that."
"He wanted to protect you."
I felt frustration rising.
"Everyone keeps saying that. Dad protected us by hiding things, and now we're discovering secrets that could have changed everything."
Michael lowered his eyes.
"I understand."
"Then tell me everything."
He took a deep breath.
"Your father asked me to keep copies of the financial records. He believed Caldwell had altered the original loan documents. But before I could finish investigating, the company I worked for was sold. The new owners dismissed several employees, including me."
"What happened to the records?"
"I kept them."
I stared at him.
"Where?"
Michael looked toward the workshop.
"In a locked cabinet."
We followed him outside.
He opened an old metal cabinet behind the workbench and removed a thick envelope.
Inside were financial statements, photographs, and several pages of handwritten notes.
One document contained a name I had never seen before.
Eleanor Whitmore.
"Who is she?" I asked.
Michael shook his head.
"I don't know. But your father believed she was the person who authorized the original transfer."
Mom picked up the document.
Her hands began shaking.
"I know that name."
We turned toward her.
"Who was she?"
Mom looked at the paper.
"She was your father's first business partner."
I frowned.
"Dad never had a business partner."
"Not officially. He helped her establish a property company before you were born. They eventually disagreed about the direction of the business."
Michael examined the financial records.
"There's something else."
He pointed to a transaction dated three months before Dad signed the original loan.
A large payment had been made to Eleanor.
Then another payment appeared under Michael's name.
I stared at him.
"You received money?"
"Yes. But it wasn't personal. It was payment for auditing the accounts."
"Did Dad know?"
Michael nodded.
"He approved it."
Mom sat down.
For the first time, I wondered whether the person I trusted most had been hiding something too.
Michael placed both hands on the table.
"I never told you because I thought the matter had been settled. I didn't realize Caldwell had kept pursuing the property."
I looked at the documents.
"Then we need to find Eleanor."
Michael nodded.
"Unfortunately, I think she found us first."
He turned over the final page.
There was a handwritten message.
If the lodge ever changes ownership again, contact Eleanor Whitmore before signing anything.
Beneath it was an address.
May you like
And a date written in Dad's handwriting.
Tomorrow.
Related Stories
