Chapter 3 - Aunt Elaine
Elaine Mercer had hated me from the beginning.
Not openly.
Never in ways Daniel could easily see.
She smiled at holidays.
Sent birthday cards.
Brought casseroles when I was sick.
Then she told relatives I was isolating Daniel.
She said I controlled money.
She said I hated the Mercer cabin.
None of that was true.
The cabin sat above Little Bear Lake and had belonged to Daniel's first wife, Rebecca.
When Rebecca died, Daniel inherited her half.
Evan expected the cabin to become his someday.
I did too.
But Daniel changed the trust six months before his death.
He gave me a life interest.
Evan would inherit only after I died.
That decision poisoned the family.
I had begged Daniel to explain it to Evan.
He refused.
"He's too young."
That silence became a weapon.
Elaine filled it.
At the hospital, she requested emergency guardianship over Evan.
She claimed I was unstable.
Dangerous.
Possibly responsible for Daniel's death.
Maria obtained the suicide note.
Then another document appeared.
A letter supposedly written by Daniel.
IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO ME, LOOK AT SARAH.
My name.
Sarah Mercer.
The letter had been stored in Elaine's safe.
How convenient.
Caleb asked to speak with Maria privately.
He could not reveal his full file yet without exposing Daniel's instructions.
But he provided enough to delay any arrest.
Then he came to my room.
"Daniel expected this."
"Expected what?"
"Not the crash."
"The papers."
"Why didn't he tell me?"
Caleb looked ashamed on Daniel's behalf.
"Because he thought he could fix it without destroying the family."
I closed my eyes.
Cowardice dressed as protection.
Again.
Caleb placed a tiny key on my blanket.
"Daniel gave me this."
"To what?"
"A lockbox at the cabin."
"He said if he died and someone blamed you, give it to you only after they made their first move."
I stared.
"Their?"
"His word."
I looked through the window at Elaine.
She was speaking with Evan.
Then Evan suddenly turned and looked directly toward me.
His face changed.
He had seen the key.
May you like
And for the first time since the crash, he looked scared.
