PART 13 – I Finally Called Karen With Questions She Could No Longer Answer by Telling Me Everything Was Under Control

I waited until the following afternoon to call Karen.

I had written down what I wanted to ask.

The closing statement.

The money from the sale.

Mom's checking account.

And the trust established in 2019.

I didn't want to forget anything.

When Karen answered, she sounded as though she was in the middle of something.

"What's going on, Beth?"

I told her I needed to discuss Mom's finances.

There was a pause.

Then she asked why.

I explained that I had spoken with Mr. Fenwick.

I told her about the letter discovered in the attic.

I didn't describe every word.

I simply said that Mom had left a written statement concerning the house and her financial records.

Karen became quiet.

Then she asked who had given me the letter.

I explained that Tyler and Hannah had found it.

"They brought it to you?"

"Yes."

I could hear her breathing through the telephone.

I asked whether she knew about the envelope.

She said she didn't.

I asked whether she knew Mom had kept a ledger beneath the staircase.

Again, she said she didn't know what I was talking about.

I reminded her that Mom had written about money disappearing from her checking account.

Karen immediately questioned our mother's memory.

She said Mom sometimes became confused.

I knew that.

I had known it for years.

But I also knew Mom had written the letter on a day when she considered herself clear enough to document what she remembered.

I told Karen that Mr. Fenwick was reviewing the records.

She didn't respond immediately.

Then she asked whether I was accusing her of something.

I said I was asking for explanations.

That was all.

I asked again for the closing settlement statement.

Karen sighed.

She said she had already explained that the money was needed for Mom's care.

I told her that wasn't what I had asked.

I wanted the actual figures.

She said I was making things unnecessarily difficult.

I felt my hands tighten around the phone.

I had spent months trying not to make things difficult.

I had accepted decisions I hadn't been part of.

I had waited for documents that never arrived.

I had trusted her explanations.

And now my mother had left a letter saying something was wrong.

I asked Karen whether the house had been placed in a trust for Emily.

There was a longer silence.

Then she asked what trust.

I told her the arrangement dated back to 2019.

I said Mr. Fenwick had located the documents.

Karen's voice changed.

She asked why Mom would do something like that without telling her.

I didn't know.

I only knew that our parents had made the arrangement.

I reminded her that the trust existed before the house was sold.

Karen said she needed to see the paperwork.

I told her the attorney was reviewing it.

She asked whether I intended to take legal action.

I didn't answer immediately.

I wasn't trying to threaten my sister.

I wanted to understand what had happened.

But I also wasn't going to pretend the letter didn't exist.

I told her that the records needed to be examined.

Then I ended the call.

I sat quietly for several minutes.

I had expected anger.

I had expected denial.

What I hadn't expected was how quickly Karen had moved from telling me everything was handled to asking why I was questioning her.

I looked at my notebook.

There were still questions without answers.

And I intended to keep asking them.

Click here to continue reading: PART 14: My Sister Wanted to Know What Mother Had Written, but She Had Never Asked Why Mother Felt She Needed to Write It