Chapter 4 - The Uncle He Trusted
Grant knocked once.
"Tyler. Open the door."
"Go away."
"We need to talk."
"You already decided what you believe."
Grant rested his forehead against the door. "I believe evidence. Right now, I have questions."
"About Uncle Victor?"
"Yes."
Silence.
Then Tyler said, "He's the only person who talks to me like I'm not a child."
That hurt more than Grant expected.
"I talk to you."
"You manage me."
Grant closed his eyes.
Behind him, Leah stood at the end of the hall, arms wrapped around herself.
"Has Victor been meeting you without telling me?" Grant asked.
Tyler did not answer.
Grant tried the handle. Locked.
"Tyler."
"You want to know what he told me?" Tyler said through the door. "He told me Mom was scared of Leah. He told me Leah wanted her gone because Mom was going to cut her out of the trust."
Leah turned white.
Grant said, "That isn't true."
"How do you know?"
"Because your mother left a note saying the opposite."
"A note Leah found."
There it was. The trap had already been built inside his son's head.
Grant lowered his voice. "Did Victor show you proof?"
"He showed me messages."
"What messages?"
The door opened two inches.
Tyler held up his phone.
On the screen was a screenshot of a text exchange between Caroline and Leah.
LEAH: I wish you would just disappear.
CAROLINE: Maybe I will.
The time stamp was six days before the crash.
Leah made a sound like she'd been hit.
"That isn't what happened."
Tyler opened the door wider. "It has your name on it."
"Because it was part of a fight. Mom canceled my tuition payment without telling me. I said something stupid. She replied sarcastically. We apologized that night."
"Sure."
Grant held out his hand. "Send me the screenshot."
Tyler hesitated, then did.
Grant forwarded it to Renee.
Her response came less than a minute later.
DO NOT TRUST THIS IMAGE. I NEED THE ORIGINAL DEVICE OR CLOUD RECORD.
Grant looked up.
"Where did Victor get this?"
Tyler's confidence flickered.
"Mom's old phone."
Grant felt a coldness spread through his chest.
Caroline's old phone had disappeared from the crash scene.
Police had listed it as unrecovered.
"When did Victor show it to you?"
"Last week."
Grant's voice barely worked.
"Did you touch the phone?"
Tyler nodded.
"Where is it now?"
Tyler looked toward the stairs.
"In my backpack."
They went downstairs together.
The backpack was open on the kitchen chair.
The phone was gone.
May you like
And on the marble counter lay a note in Victor's handwriting.
You should teach your children to lock the doors.
