Chapter 3: The Room Stephanie Hid From Me
The next morning, I arrived at Stephanie’s apartment ten minutes early.
Emma opened the door before I knocked.
She looked exhausted.
Like she hadn’t slept.
“Charles.””
“Emma.””
She stepped aside.
“You need to see this.””
I followed her through the apartment.
It was strange being there without Stephanie.
I had spent countless evenings in that place.
But suddenly, everything looked different.
The expensive furniture.
The designer decorations.
The framed photographs of Stephanie’s family.
Everything felt less like a home.
More like a display.
Emma stopped in front of a door.
“This is her office.””
I frowned.
“Stephanie has an office?””
“Yes.””
“She never let me in here.””
Emma gave me a sad look.
“That was intentional.””
She unlocked the door.
The room smelled like paper and expensive perfume.
A marble desk sat in the center.
But it wasn’t the desk that caught my attention.
It was everything covering it.
Maps.
Contracts.
Property reports.
Legal folders.
And on top of several documents was a name.
Margaret E. Hartwell.
My mother.
I stepped forward.
“What is this?””
Emma closed the door behind us.
“Charles, I need you to understand something.””
Her voice shook.
“My sister didn’t want you because of you.””
The words hurt more than I expected.
Even though I knew something was wrong.
I still wasn’t prepared to hear it.
“What are you saying?””
Emma looked at the papers.
“She wanted access.””
“To what?””
She didn’t answer.
She pointed.
I picked up the first folder.
The title made my blood run cold.
*Willowbrook Farm Development Proposal.*
Inside were detailed plans.
Housing projects.
Commercial buildings.
Projected profits.
Millions of dollars.
I looked at Emma.
“She was planning to sell my mother’s farm?””
Emma swallowed.
“Not exactly.””
I turned the page.
Then I saw it.
A document with my mother’s name.
“What is this?””
Emma stepped closer.
“That’s why I contacted you.””
I opened it.
My hands started shaking.
It was a power of attorney document.
A document giving someone else control over my mother’s financial and legal decisions.
The signature line was empty.
But the name printed above it was already there.
Margaret Hartwell.
“She wanted your mother to sign that before the wedding,” Emma whispered.
“Why?””
Emma looked terrified.
“Because once you married Stephanie, your family assets would become easier to control.””
I stared at the paper.
A thousand moments replayed in my mind.
Stephanie asking questions about Willowbrook.
Stephanie wanting to know the farm’s exact value.
Stephanie saying, “Charles, imagine what we could build there.””
I had thought she meant our future.
She meant her future.
“Why are you helping me?”” I asked.
Emma looked away.
“Because I heard what she said to your mother yesterday.””
“What?””
“She called her after the wedding.””
My jaw tightened.
“What did she say?””
Emma’s eyes filled with shame.
“She told your mother that people like her should know when they’re lucky.””
I felt something inside me go completely still.
“She said that?””
Emma nodded.
Then she opened another folder.
“This is worse.””
Inside was a letter.
From Richard Whitmore.
I read the first line.
*Once Charles is married, the Hartwell property transfer will be significantly easier.*
My heartbeat became louder.
They weren’t planning a marriage.
They were planning a transaction.
Then Emma whispered something that made me stop breathing.
“There’s one more thing.””
I looked up.
“What?””
She pointed at another folder.
May you like
One I hadn’t noticed before.
“This one is about your father.””
