Chapter 3 - The Contents of the Lost Wallet
The next morning brought no relief from the storm,
as a gray fog rolled in from the grounds,
shrouding Hale Manor in a ghostly shroud.
Margaret led Leo into Edward’s private study,
a room that still smelled heavily of old leather,
expensive tobacco,
and aged paper.
It was a room where decisions that shaped the city had been made,
yet it felt incredibly small now that its master was gone.
Leo sat quietly in a leather chair,
watching as Margaret closed the heavy door and locked it from the inside.
“Leo,” Margaret said gently,
walking over to the massive mahogany desk.
“You told me yesterday that Edward gave you his wallet before he died.”
The boy nodded,
reaching into his hoodie once again,
and this time,
he pulled out a thick,
black leather wallet.
It was worn,
scuffed,
and bore the silver initials E.H.
engraved in the corner.
Margaret took it,
her breath catching in her throat as she felt the familiar texture of her husband’s possession.
She opened it slowly,
her fingers trembling as she sifted through the items inside.
There were no credit cards,
no cash,
and no identification pieces,
as if they had been intentionally removed.
Instead,
there was a small brass key,
a folded piece of notebook paper,
and an old train ticket dated exactly twenty years ago.
Margaret picked up the train ticket first,
noticing the destination was a small,
remote town in upstate New York.
“Why would he keep this?” she murmured to herself,
remembering that twenty years ago was the exact year Daniel had died.
She then unfolded the piece of notebook paper,
recognizing the hurried,
anxious handwriting of her late husband.
The note was short,
cryptic,
and filled with an overwhelming sense of guilt.
“Margaret,
if you are reading this,
it means I failed to fix the greatest mistake of my life,” the note read.
“Julian knows part of it,
but he doesn't know the whole truth,
so you must protect the boy at all costs.”
Margaret felt a chill run down her spine as she read the words over and over again.
“What mistake?” she whispered,
looking up at Leo,
who was watching her with intense curiosity.
“Did Mr.
Hale ever tell you about his mistake,
Leo?”
The boy shook his head slowly,
twisting his hands together in his lap.
“He just said he was sorry,” Leo murmured.
“He said he spent twenty years trying to hide something to protect the family,
but it only ended up destroying the people he cared about.”
“Did he mention your mother?” Margaret asked,
her heart pounding wildly against her ribs.
“He said my mother,
Clara,
was the only person who ever truly loved Daniel,” Leo said softly.
“He said he forced her to leave the city after Daniel died,
because he couldn't bear the thought of a scandal.”
Margaret dropped the note onto the desk,
the pieces of the puzzle suddenly slamming together with terrifying force.
Edward had known about the pregnancy twenty years ago,
he had hidden the girl away,
and he had lied to his own wife for two decades.
“He told me I was dead to him,” Margaret said,
her voice barely audible as she stared at the wall.
“He told me Daniel died without any regrets,
but he was lying to me the whole time.”
She picked up the small brass key,
knowing exactly what it belonged to.
It was the key to the private safe hidden behind the oil painting of the family estate in the corner of the study.
She walked over to the painting,
her heart hammering,
and swung it open to reveal the heavy iron safe.
Her hands shook as she inserted the key into the lock,
turning it until a heavy click echoed through the quiet room.
She pulled the door open,
expecting to find bonds,
stocks,
or deeds to property.
Instead,
she found a thick leather-bound journal and a sealed envelope with her name written on it in Daniel’s handwriting.
Margaret gasped,
clutching the envelope to her chest as tears finally spilled over her cheeks.
“Daniel,” she sobbed,
collapsing to her knees on the cold floor.
Leo jumped down from his chair and rushed to her side,
placing a small,
comforting hand on her trembling shoulder.
“It’s okay,” the boy whispered,
his own eyes filling with tears.
“He wanted you to find it,
he told me you would know what to do.”
Before Margaret could open the envelope,
a loud,
aggressive knocking rattled the study door,
causing both of them to jump.
“Margaret!” Julian’s voice shouted from the hallway,
sounding angry and demanding.
“Open this door right now,
the medical team is here for the DNA test,
and we have legal matters to discuss immediately.”
Margaret looked at the envelope in her hand,
May you like
then at Leo,
knowing that the war for the Hale legacy had officially begun.
