PART 20 – I Returned to Mr. Fenwick With More Questions, but This Time I Was No Longer Afraid to Ask Them

The next morning, I contacted Mr. Fenwick.

I told him I had visited Mom.

I explained that she appeared to remember writing the letter.

She had also asked whether the papers had been found.

He listened carefully.

I told him she seemed relieved when I confirmed that the blue tin was safe.

He said that was useful context.

I asked whether he had completed his review of the trust documents.

He explained that he had confirmed the existence of the 2019 arrangement.

He still needed to consider the relationship between that trust, the property transfer, and the authority used in the sale.

I asked what that meant for the buyers.

He said their position needed to be considered carefully.

Tyler and Hannah had paid two hundred and ninety thousand dollars.

They had entered the transaction believing they were purchasing the property legitimately.

They also had a young child.

I told him I didn't want them treated unfairly.

He understood.

I asked whether the trust could affect their ownership.

He explained that the legal effect depended on the documents and the circumstances of the transaction.

He wasn't going to give me a definite answer before completing the review.

I appreciated that.

I asked about the money again.

He said the ledger was important, but it needed to be compared with the account records.

I told him Karen still hadn't provided the closing statement.

He made a note.

I asked whether there was anything else I could do.

He advised me to keep the original documents together and preserve every communication concerning the sale.

I agreed.

I had started saving messages.

I had kept notes of telephone conversations.

I had the letter.

I had the tin.

I had the dates.

For once, I felt that I wasn't simply reacting to whatever Karen told me.

I was keeping track.

Before leaving, I asked Mr. Fenwick one more question.

Had my parents ever discussed the trust with him in a way that explained why Emily had been chosen?

He said the documents would be the proper starting point.

I understood.

I didn't want to invent an explanation.

I wanted to know what my parents had actually intended.

On the way home, I thought about Emily.

She was still unaware of the details.

I hadn't told her because I didn't want to promise something that hadn't been legally established.

But I knew her grandparents had made a decision involving her.

That deserved respect.

I also thought about Karen.

She had been my sister long before she became the person managing Mom's affairs.

We had shared a childhood.

We had shared our parents.

We had shared the same house.

I didn't know what would happen to our relationship.

I wasn't ready to decide.

But I knew trust couldn't be restored through another telephone promise.

It would require honesty.

It would require records.

And it would require Karen to answer questions she had avoided for months.

I placed the notebook on my table when I got home.

The first page still contained the same three words.

The trust.

The ledger.

The sale.

I looked at them for a moment.

Then I added one more.

Mom.

Because beneath all the paperwork, arguments, and unanswered questions, there was still an eighty-four-year-old woman who had wanted someone to listen.

I wasn't going to forget that.

Click here to continue reading: PART 21: The Missing Settlement Statement Was Still the Simplest Question, Yet Karen Had Never Managed to Give Me an Answer