Season 2 Chapter 3: The Hidden Will
Chapter 3: The Hidden Will
Michael Brooks and Detective Sarah Mitchell rushed downstairs.
The elderly man was gone.
Only the receptionist remained behind the marble desk.
"He just left," she said nervously.
"He wouldn't tell me his name."
Michael looked through the glass entrance.
The busy streets of downtown Los Angeles were filled with people.
The stranger had vanished.
"Did he leave anything?" Sarah asked.
The receptionist nodded.
"He asked me to give this to Mr. Brooks."
She handed Michael a small brown envelope.
There was no return address.
Only four handwritten words.
FOR MICHAEL. ALONE.
Michael carefully opened it.
Inside was a brass key.
Old.
Heavy.
Its surface was scratched with age.
The number engraved on it immediately caught his attention.
KEY No. 6
Sarah looked over his shoulder.
"The missing master key."
Michael slowly nodded.
His father had claimed it disappeared decades ago.
Now it had mysteriously returned.
Beneath the key lay another folded note.
The handwriting was shaky.
George wanted you to find this after I was gone.
Do not trust the will already filed with the court.
There is another one.
Hidden where only family can enter.
— S.R.
Michael stared at the initials.
Samuel Reed.
The missing estate manager.
"He really is alive," Sarah whispered.
"And he knew my father."
Michael immediately called the probate attorney handling George Brooks' estate.
"There was only one will," the attorney insisted.
"The signed version has already been submitted."
Michael looked at Sarah.
"Someone wanted us to believe that."
Two hours later, they returned to the abandoned Brooks mansion.
Police tape still surrounded parts of the property.
The silence felt heavier than before.
Michael inserted the recovered master key into the front entrance.
The old lock clicked immediately.
"It still works," he whispered.
Inside, dust covered the marble floor.
Most rooms were empty after the sale preparations.
Only George's private library remained untouched.
Michael slowly walked toward the massive bookshelf.
"I remember something," he said quietly.
"When I was a child, my father told me there were two safes in this room."
Sarah frowned.
"We only found one."
Michael smiled faintly.
"That's because the second one wasn't meant to be found."
He approached an antique globe sitting beside the fireplace.
He gently rotated it.
Nothing happened.
Then he remembered.
His father always stopped the globe with North America facing forward.
Michael turned it carefully.
A soft mechanical click echoed through the room.
One section of the bookshelf slowly slid aside.
Sarah stared in disbelief.
"A hidden room..."
Inside was a narrow vault no larger than a closet.
There were only three objects.
A leather document case.
An old revolver.
And a framed family photograph.
Michael ignored everything except the document case.
He opened it carefully.
The first page read:
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF GEORGE BROOKS
His hands began to tremble.
"It really exists."
Sarah quickly compared it with the official copy on her tablet.
Within seconds, she noticed a major difference.
"The official will leaves Brooks Financial equally to the board."
She turned another page.
"This one doesn't."
Michael frowned.
"What does it say?"
Sarah looked directly at him.
"George left everything..."
"...to the person who proves Daniel Carter's full truth."
Michael froze.
"The inheritance was never about money."
Sarah nodded.
"It was a test."
Michael continued reading.
Near the final page, another handwritten letter had been attached.
It was addressed personally to him.
Michael,
If you are reading this, then I have already failed as your father.
I protected the wrong people.
I buried the wrong secrets.
If the truth is ever uncovered, you must finish what I was too weak to do.
Do not look for the fortune.
Look for Daniel's journal.
It contains the one name nobody ever suspected.
Trust no one.
Not even someone carrying the Brooks name.
Michael lowered the letter slowly.
"The one name nobody ever suspected..."
Before anyone could speak, a loud crash echoed upstairs.
Sarah instantly drew her weapon.
Someone else was inside the mansion.
The hidden room door slowly began to close on its own.
And somewhere in the dark hallway above them...
May you like
Footsteps began moving toward the library.
END OF CHAPTER 3
