I turned the little dial.
At first, there was only static.
Then a woman's voice came through the speaker.
Lenora.
I recognized her immediately.
"Did you see Grant's expression when he found Hallie outside?"
My fingers stopped moving.
Travis laughed.
"Yeah. I thought he was going to lose his mind."
Nobody at the birthday table moved.
Diane covered her mouth.
Walter leaned forward.
Marlene looked at me.
I couldn't speak.
Hallie squeezed my wrist.
"Keep listening, Dad."
The monitor crackled again.
Lenora sounded annoyed.
"He wasn't supposed to be home until Saturday. We had everything under control."
Travis answered casually.
"Don't worry. You've still got those academy documents."
"Not the academy documents. The residential authorization. If he'd signed it this morning, she would already be gone."
I felt my stomach turn.
I looked at the blue folder sitting on the kitchen counter.
It hadn't been about finding help for Hallie.
It had been about getting my signature.
Travis laughed again.
"What about the forty dollars? You really think he'll believe that?"
Lenora gave a short laugh.
"He believed everything else I told him."
Those words hurt more than I expected.
Because she was right.
I'd believed her when she said Hallie was difficult.
I'd believed her when she said our daughter was becoming disrespectful.
I'd believed her when she said everything at home was fine.
I had never asked enough questions.
The recording continued.
Travis lowered his voice.
"I didn't think she'd last five weeks out there."
Lenora answered without hesitation.
"She could have stayed longer if Grant hadn't come home early."
"She's a kid. It's freezing."
"She's sixteen. She needs to understand that this isn't her house anymore."
Walter pushed his chair backward.
The legs scraped loudly against the floor.
"That's my daughter's house," he said.
Nobody answered.
Then Travis mentioned something I hadn't heard before.
"What are we doing about the money Evelyn left?"
My entire body went cold.
Money?
I looked at Hallie.
She was crying silently.
Lenora answered.
"That's exactly why we need her out of the way. Once Grant signs the papers, we'll handle the rest."
Travis chuckled.
"You think he'll let you control everything?"
"He's never questioned me before."
I lowered my eyes.
I had given this woman access to my home.
I had trusted her with my daughter.
And she had used that trust against both of us.
The conversation continued.
Travis asked what would happen if Hallie told somebody.
Lenora sounded almost amused.
"Who would believe her? Grant is always working. Everybody thinks I'm a wonderful stepmother."
I heard enough.
More than enough.
Then something changed.
The garage door began opening.
Hallie quickly lowered the volume.
A few seconds later, Lenora walked into the kitchen carrying a bag of ice.
Travis followed.
They both stopped.
Everyone was staring at them.
Lenora looked around.
"What's going on?"
Nobody answered.
She tried smiling.
"Did someone start the birthday celebration without me?"
I stood up.
"Lenora."
My voice sounded different.
She looked at me.
"What?"
"How long have you been planning to send Hallie away?"
Her eyes moved toward the baby monitor.
Then toward my daughter.
Something changed in her face.
"Grant, whatever she's told you—"
"I didn't ask what she told me."
I took one step closer.
"I asked how long you've been planning this."
She folded her arms.
"This is ridiculous. You're allowing a teenager to turn everyone against me."
Hallie stood.
Her hands were trembling.
But she didn't sit down again.
"I didn't turn anyone against you."
Lenora looked at her angrily.
Hallie continued.
"I just let everyone hear what you say when you think nobody can hear you."
My wife went red.
"Where did you get that thing?"
Hallie pointed at the monitor.
"Mom kept it in a box in the attic. I found it when you made me move my stuff."
Lenora's voice rose.
"You went through my things!"
I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing.
She had put a child outside for five weeks.
And now she was angry about an old baby monitor.
Hallie looked directly at her.
"Three weeks ago, I heard you talking to Uncle Travis near the camper."
Travis stopped moving.
"You said Dad would think I was dangerous. You said nobody would believe me."
Lenora shook her head.
"She's making things up."
Hallie wiped her cheeks.
"You told Uncle Travis to take forty dollars from your purse. Then you blamed me."
I looked at Travis.
He lowered his eyes.
Hallie continued.
"When I wouldn't admit it, you said I didn't deserve my bedroom."
Her voice broke.
"You moved my bed into the garage. Then you told me the camper was where I belonged."
I turned toward Travis.
"Did you help her do this?"
He rubbed his face.
"Man, I didn't think she'd actually leave the kid outside that long."
That was enough.
He had admitted his involvement.
Lenora spun toward him.
"Travis, shut up!"
But I was already reaching for my phone.
"What are you doing?" Lenora demanded.
"Calling the police."
She stepped toward me.
"Grant, don't be dramatic. We can settle this as a family."
Walter stood.
His face was pale.
"My granddaughter has been sleeping outside in freezing weather, and you want to settle this privately?"
Lenora pointed at Hallie.
"That girl has caused nothing but trouble since I came into this family!"
The room became completely silent.
Then Hallie spoke.
"Dad, there's something else."
I turned toward her.
She wasn't looking at Lenora anymore.
She was looking at the blue folder.
"The academy wasn't the real plan."
Lenora's expression changed.
"Hallie, stop talking."
But Hallie continued.
"I found another folder in your bedroom."
Travis suddenly moved toward the hallway.
Marlene stepped in front of him.
"Where are you going?"
He stopped.
Hallie looked at me.
"It had Mom's name on it."
My heart started beating faster.
"Evelyn?"
She nodded.
"And mine."
I looked at Lenora.
"What did you do with my daughter's inheritance?"
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Hallie took her phone from her pocket.
She showed me a photograph of a document.
At the top were three words.
BENEFICIARY TRUST AMENDMENT.
My late wife's name appeared underneath.
Near the bottom was a signature that looked like mine.
I stared at it.
I had never signed that paper.
"Lenora, what is this?"
She shook her head.
"You don't understand."
Before I could respond, Hallie took another breath.
"The night before you came home, I heard her talking to Travis. She said the paperwork had to be finished before my birthday."
"Why before your birthday?"
Hallie looked frightened.
"Because they said when I turned sixteen, I could legally ask to see something."
I looked again at the forged signature.
Then my phone rang.
It was Mr. Caldwell, the attorney who had handled Evelyn's estate.
I answered.
"Mr. Caldwell?"
His voice was serious.
"Grant, I'm glad I've reached you. Somebody came into my office yesterday with documents claiming to have your authorization to change Hallie's trust."
I looked straight at Lenora.
"What documents?"
He paused.
"There's something much worse. They also submitted a death certificate."
My hand tightened around the phone.
"For whom?"
"Your daughter, Hallie."
I looked at my sixteen-year-old girl.
She was standing beside me.
Alive.
And suddenly, I understood that the people who wanted her gone had been planning something far more serious than sending her away to school.
Click here to continue reading: PART 6: Someone Had Declared My Living Daughter Dead, and the Money Her Mother Left Was at the Center of Everything
I Thought I Was Bringing My Daughter the Best Birthday Surprise, Until I Opened the Door to the Bedroom That No Longer Belonged to Her
Part 5 of 20
