Chapter 7 - Sneaking Back In
Under the cover of night, while Bryce and Kendra were still scouring the far perimeter of the property and the nearby woods looking for them, Tessa and Judith crept back toward the house through the unlocked mudroom entrance.
The house was dead quiet. The soft hum of the refrigerator was the only sound breaking the heavy silence.
Tessa led her mother quickly upstairs to the master study—a cozy, wood-paneled room that had miraculously remained untouched by Kendra’s modern gray redesign. In the corner sat the massive, dark mahogany roll-top desk that their father had treasured for decades.
Tessa tried the brass key in the lower compartment lock. With a smooth, satisfying click, the heavy wooden shutter slid upward, revealing rows of neatly organized leather-bound journals, envelopes, and legal folders.
“Look for the blue folder labeled ‘Last Will & Testament and Property Holdings,’” Judith whispered urgently, standing guard by the door.
Tessa’s fingers flew through the files. Within seconds, she pulled out a thick blue folder stamped with the seal of a local Fairhaven attorney. She opened it and scanned the pages. There it was: their father’s original, legally binding will, clearly stating that the house and estate were to be divided equally between Tessa and Bryce upon Judith’s passing, with Judith retaining full ownership and residency rights for life.
Tucked right beside it was a bank statement showing Bryce had maxed out multiple business loans using forged signatures on home equity lines of credit.
“I have it,” Tessa said, pulling out her smartphone—which she had managed to keep in her back pocket—and snapping clear, high-resolution photos of every single document, saving them directly to her cloud storage.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed loudly on the stairs.
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“They’re back!” Judith gasped in a panic.
Before Tessa could close the desk, the study door swung open, and Kendra stepped inside, freezing in shock when she saw Tessa standing by the open desk with the legal documents in her hands.
