Chapter 4 - The Room He Had Closed
Richard left Maya with Grace, then walked to Eleanor's study. He found the spare key in his desk and turned it in the lock. The room smelled of cedar and old paper. Her cardigan still hung over the chair, and her blue mug sat beside a stack of books she had meant to finish.
He had closed it to avoid grief.
The blue drawer at the bottom of Eleanor's desk was locked. Maya's brass key fit. Inside lay a folder, a flash drive, a sealed envelope, and a list of payments from the Sterling Foundation to a company called Northstar Advisory. The foundation had been Eleanor's pride, funding housing, scholarships, and emergency grants.
The payments were large and repeated. Several had no supporting reports. The last entry was dated six days before Eleanor went into the hospital.
Richard opened the envelope. Eleanor wrote that she had found irregular transfers and had asked Peter Vance, the foundation treasurer, for records. Peter was Victoria's older brother. She planned to bring the matter to Richard after the baby arrived.
She never got the chance.
A sound came from the hallway. Victoria stood in the doorway, her expression calm again.
“I wondered where you went,” she said. Her eyes dropped to the open drawer. “You shouldn't be in here.”
“This is my house.”
“And this was Eleanor's room.” Her voice sharpened. “You promised you'd stop living in the past.”
Richard held up the transfer list. “What is Northstar Advisory?”
May you like
Victoria looked at the flash drive in his hand. For a moment, her mask slipped.
“You don't want to hear what's on that,” she said.
