Chapter 2 - The Letter Names Noah and Ryan
Ryan read the first paragraph twice.
The paper shook in his hand.
To Ryan and Noah—
If this letter is ever hidden from you, contact Margaret Sloan
immediately. The lake house belongs to both of you through the family
trust. No one else has authority to sell it, mortgage it, or claim it as
their own.
Ryan looked at Diane.
Her face had gone white.
Noah sat wrapped in a towel beside him, still shivering from the lake.
“What does it mean?” he whispered.
Ryan kept one arm around him.
“It means Dad left us the house.”
Diane found her voice.
“That letter is old.”
An elderly woman near the table stepped forward.
Margaret Sloan.
The same relative who had picked up the folded paper.
She was not actually family.
She had been their father’s estate attorney for twenty-seven years.
“No,” Margaret said. “It is not irrelevant.”
Diane glared at her.
“You don’t know what happened after he wrote it.”
Margaret looked down at the signature.
“I know exactly when he wrote it.”
Then she turned to Ryan.
“And I know why I was supposed to receive a copy.”
Ryan looked back at the jewelry box.
The box belonged to Diane.
The letter had been hidden beneath her jewelry.
That meant the question was no longer whether Diane knew about the
May you like
house.
It was how long she had known.
