Inside, the top layer looked mostly intact with folded quilts and old linens. I found the photo tin and the letters and the baby dress I had once worn.
At the very bottom I found something I had never seen before. It was a sealed envelope with my name on the front in my mother’s handwriting.
“Audrey, if Victoria has tried to take the house, open this with Lydia,” the note read. My knees nearly gave out as I held the thick cream paper.
“Let’s take that inside to the kitchen,” Lydia suggested. We returned to the house because the kitchen had the best light and felt like the room where truth belonged.
Victoria tried to object one last time. “This is absurd because you are not opening private correspondence in front of strangers,” she said.
Lydia looked at the handwriting and shook her head. “It is addressed to my client with specific instructions,” Lydia noted.
“I can assure you that your approval is not a legal prerequisite for us,” she added. I sat down at the table and broke the seal with a shaking finger.
Inside were several pages written in my mother’s steady hand. “Audrey, if you are reading this, then Victoria has finally done exactly what I believed she would do,” the letter began.
“I am sorry that I may not be here to stand in the doorway and stop her myself,” it continued. My vision blurred with tears as I kept reading.
“You will be tempted to doubt yourself, but you must not do that.” “You have always been kinder than the people who mistake kindness for weakness.”
“Your father loves comfort more than conflict, and comfort in the wrong hands can make cowards of people.” The room seemed to tilt slightly as I reached the next part.
“The beach house was never simply real estate because it held our happiest years and some of our worst.” “That is why I put this house beyond Victoria’s easy reach.”
I lifted my eyes for a second to see the older officer had taken off his hat. Cassandra was staring at the tabletop as if it might open up and save her.
“You may also need the enclosed documents if Victoria ever attempts to challenge the trust.” “There is one truth I need preserved clearly, which is that your father knew.”
“He knew the house was placed in trust for you and he objected to it.” “He signed the occupancy acknowledgment after three weeks of argument.”