Chapter 7 - THE ROOM VALERIE LOCKEDJasper lunged for the envelope.
Valerie raised it above his reach.
“Give it back!”
“Jasper.”
“It’s Mabel’s!”
“It came from my husband’s desk.”
“It has her name!”
Valerie stared at the handwriting.
Something in her face changed.
Fear.
Jasper had never seen his mother afraid of paper before.
“Where exactly did you find this?”
He said nothing.
“Jasper.”
“No.”
She looked at him sharply.
“What did Mabel tell you?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s a lie.”
Jasper’s eyes filled.
Valerie took a breath.
She lowered herself to his height.
“Sweetheart, Mabel is confusing you.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No!”
“She is an employee who became too attached.”
“You’re lying.”
Valerie froze.
Jasper immediately looked frightened by his own words.
But he continued.
“Dad wanted her here.”
Valerie’s face hardened.
“What did she tell you about your father?”
“That he loved me.”
“Of course he loved you.”
“And he wanted Mabel to stay.”
Valerie stood.
“She has no right to discuss Graham with you.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m your mother.”
“That doesn’t make Dad only yours.”
The sentence landed like a slap.
Valerie turned away.
For a moment Jasper saw grief instead of anger.
Then it vanished.
She looked at the envelope again.
Jasper watched.
“Are you going to open it?”
“It concerns my husband.”
“It says Mabel.”
Valerie hesitated.
The distinction mattered.
Even to her.
Finally she slid it into her handbag.
“I’ll decide what to do.”
“That’s stealing.”
Valerie’s head snapped toward him.
“Go to your room.”
“I want Mabel.”
“Room. Now.”
Jasper ran.
The door slammed.
Valerie remained alone in the hall.
She removed the envelope.
For a full minute she stared at it.
Then her phone rang.
Harrison.
“Did you find anything?”
“A letter.”
“Open it.”
“It’s addressed to Mabel.”
“So?”
Valerie looked toward Jasper’s room.
“So Graham wrote it.”
Harrison sighed.
“Valerie, whatever loyalty you still feel to a dead man is becoming expensive.”
Her face hardened.
“You don’t get to talk about him like that.”
A pause.
Then Harrison softened.
“Fine. I’m sorry.”
Valerie looked at the envelope.
“What if it says something I don’t want to know?”
“Then better you know before Mabel does.”
That convinced her.
She went downstairs.
Locked herself inside Graham’s study.
And opened it.
The letter began:
Mabel, if Valerie has removed you from Jasper’s life, then the situation I feared has arrived.
Valerie stopped breathing.
She continued.
Do not confront her alone. Contact Adrian Cole. The child trust must be protected before anyone attempts to sell or borrow against Jasper’s property.
Her hands began shaking.
Then:
Valerie may believe the house belongs to her because she is my wife. It does not. Her right to live there depends upon the property remaining Jasper’s primary home.
Valerie sat down.
“No.”
She read faster.
If she attempts to remove Jasper permanently, encumber the property, or use trust assets for purposes unrelated to his welfare, Adrian has instructions to seek court review.
Valerie’s face drained.
Harrison had told her the trust probably owned only a minority.
Graham’s letter implied more.
Then she reached the final paragraph.
There is one additional fact concerning Jasper’s birth that Valerie has spent years hoping would never become public. It should remain private unless she uses the old lie against him. The proof is with Adrian.
Valerie dropped the letter.
For a long moment she stared at the floor.
Then she whispered:
“You bastard.”
Not Jasper.
Graham.
Her phone rang again.
She answered.
“Well?” Harrison asked.
Valerie looked at the letter.
“He knew.”
“Knew what?”
“Everything.”
Silence.
“What does that mean?”
Valerie stood.
“It means we have to find Mabel before Adrian does.”
Upstairs, Jasper stood outside the study door.
He had followed quietly.
He could not hear every word.
Only one sentence clearly.
We have to find Mabel before Adrian does.
Jasper backed away.
For the first time, he understood Mabel might be in danger.
Not physical danger.
Something worse to a child.
The danger of adults deciding she had no place in his life.
He ran to his room.
Opened the old desk.
And found the business card Mabel had once given him “for emergencies.”
Her number was printed on it.
He hid it inside his stuffed rabbit.
Valerie could take his tablet.
She could take letters.
She could lock rooms.
May you like
But Jasper had decided one thing.
He was not going to forget Mabel just because his mother ordered him to.
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