“A letter,” I said. “She must have placed it here right before she went into the hospital.”

I unfolded the thick paper, the smell of cedar and old paper rising from the folds.

I began to read her words silently, my eyes scanning the neat lines.

“My dearest Claire,” the letter began, “if you are reading this, the worst of my fears have come true.”

I felt a tear slip down my cheek, but I wiped it away quickly.

“I have discovered that Graham has been systematically draining the secondary trust,” the letter continued.

“But he is not working alone.”

I caught my breath and looked up at Daniel.

“Read it aloud,” Daniel said softly.

I swallowed hard and found my voice.

“Graham has partnered with Vance Harrison,” I read. “Vance is a corrupt developer who has wanted our family’s northern holdings for a decade.”

Daniel’s expression turned grim as he listened.

“The letter says Vance is the true mastermind behind the North Star entity,” I said, my voice shaking. “Graham was just his inside man.”

I looked back down at the paper, my eyes tracing my mother’s urgent writing.