At the time, I dismissed his words as unnecessary worry. Now they felt like a warning I should have taken seriously.
The tracker stopped near Capitol Avenue in front of a notary office. I crossed the street carefully and looked through the window without being seen.
Inside, I saw Connor, Smith, and a woman I recognized instantly from photos even though we had never met in person. It was Angela, Scott’s business partner who he always insisted was only a colleague.
I stayed outside and watched every movement with a pounding heart. Smith handed over documents, Connor signed something, and Angela smiled with a confidence that suggested everything was going according to plan.
They left together and entered a dark SUV, and the tracker signal moved again, this time heading toward Brookside where our house stood. I followed them in a taxi, keeping enough distance to avoid being noticed.
From the corner of the street, I saw Connor unlock the front door with my keys and walk inside with them as if I had already been erased. I stayed outside, shaking as I imagined my belongings being treated like property to divide.
I returned to the café and opened my laptop, determined to follow the only lead Scott had left me. Using the password he gave me, I accessed his email account and searched carefully.
There, I found a message scheduled to send the next day addressed directly to me. My hands trembled as I opened it.
“Teresa, if you are reading this, it means Connor tried to cut you out, so do not sign anything and go to deposit box 317 tomorrow because there is a copy of the will and a recording,” the message read.
A cold realization settled over me because Scott had anticipated exactly what was happening. That meant someone had been planning this long before his death.
The next morning, I arrived at a local bank before it opened and waited until I was allowed inside. After showing identification and the access document, an employee escorted me into a private room.
Inside box 317, I found a USB drive, a folder filled with notarized documents, and a handwritten letter. I sat down immediately because my legs could not support me any longer.
In the video on the USB drive, Scott appeared tired but clear as he looked directly into the camera. “Teresa, I discovered that Smith and Angela were pressuring Connor with promises of total control of the company if he agreed to a new will they presented as a tax update,” he said.
“I refused, and if I am gone and Connor removes you, it means they went ahead without me,” he continued calmly.
