Chapter 7 - Grandma's third beneficiary
I called Laura.
She answered immediately.
Her voice was older than I remembered.
“Emily.”
“Who is the third beneficiary?”
“Not over the phone.”
“I've had enough of everyone deciding when I'm allowed to know things.”
Silence.
Then:
“Fair.”
The third beneficiary was a boy named Matthew Carter.
My brother.
I didn't have a brother.
At least that was what I'd believed for thirty-four years.
Matthew was born two years before me.
He died at six months.
That explained nothing.
“Why leave twenty percent to a dead child?”
“She didn't.”
Laura sent another document.
Amended beneficiary schedule.
Matthew Carter, living issue.
I stopped.
“Living issue means descendants.”
“Yes.”
“Matthew died as a baby.”
“That is what your parents told you.”
Not again.
According to Laura, Matthew survived.
He had been born with serious medical complications and temporarily placed with relatives while my parents struggled financially.
Then something happened.
Custody became permanent.
My parents erased him from family history.
“Why would Grandma include him?”
“Because Ruth never accepted what they did.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
That answer surprised me.
Grandma had located Matthew as a teenager but respected his request for no contact.
The trust preserved a share in case he or his descendants ever came forward.
My parents had spent years trying to eliminate that contingency.
If Matthew was legally declared deceased without descendants, his share redistributed.
Mostly to Lily and me.
But if my parents controlled our shares through Carter Holdings, they could effectively control everything.
“Why was Dad meeting you in Hawaii?”
“He wasn't.”
“What?”
Laura had booked a ticket because someone contacted her claiming to be Lily.
The email offered documents proving Matthew was dead.
She became suspicious.
Then canceled her trip.
Dad apparently didn't know.
Mom took the empty reservation using miles and changes.
So someone wanted Laura in Hawaii.
Not Dad.
Not necessarily Mom.
Who?
Then Laura said:
“Emily, your stolen card may have accidentally protected me.”
“How?”
“The person arranging the meeting used the same Bellevue mailbox tied to your fraudulent account.”
I sat down.
This wasn't simply my parents.
Another person controlled part of the identity scheme.
Someone with access to family documents.
Someone looking for Matthew.
Then Rachel called.
She had traced the Bellevue mailbox rental.
Applicant:
May you like
Lily Carter.
My sister.
