Chapter 5 - The Christmas Letter That Could Not Exist
Gabriel spread the forged letter on his office desk.
His mother had signed thousands of documents. He knew the shape of her E, the sharp slash beneath her last name, and the way she always wrote the date in full.
The signature looked right.
The date did not.
Evelyn had been buried in March. The letter was dated September.
Victor claimed it was a clerical error.
Helen asked why the letter authorized Denise to collect rent from a trust that appeared to guarantee housing for a mother and her children.
Victor said the trust's beneficiaries were confidential.
"Confidential from whom?" Claire asked.
"From the public."
"I'm the person living in the house."
Victor adjusted his cuff links.
"That doesn't make you the beneficiary."
Gabriel had reached his limit.
"Victor, stop talking around her."
Victor turned.
"Your mother asked me to protect you from unnecessary distress."
"She didn't ask you to forge her signature."
The room went silent.
Victor left before answering.
Helen arranged for a document examiner to review the letter and petitioned for the original trust records. Gabriel gave her full access to the documents he legally controlled, but he did not attempt to take over Claire's case.
At home, Claire opened a small box of Christmas cards Evelyn had sent her. She had kept them because Evelyn had always written something personal.
One card said: For Annie, who deserves to grow up knowing she is wanted.
Another, sent shortly before Evelyn died, contained a sentence Claire had never understood: When the time comes, remember the blue room.
"What's the blue room?" Annie asked.
"At the lake house, there was a nursery with blue wallpaper."
"Did you clean it?"
"Once."
"Why only once?"
Claire looked toward Teddy.
"Because Mrs. Vale asked me not to go back."
Annie was quiet. Then she asked the question Claire had feared.
"Is Teddy's dad alive?"
Claire sat beside her.
"No, sweetheart."
"Was he nice?"
"Sometimes. He was trying to be better."
"Did he know about Teddy?"
Claire's eyes filled.
"He knew there might be a baby. He died before I could tell him for sure."
Annie considered that.
"Did he know me?"
"He met you once."
"Did he like me?"
Claire took her daughter's hands.
"He said you had the bravest face he'd ever seen."
That was true. Julian Vale had met Annie outside a grocery store when Claire's car would not start. He had knelt to help her retrieve dropped oranges and spent fifteen minutes making her laugh.
Claire had not told him she was pregnant yet.
She had intended to.
Then he died.
Gabriel came by that evening with a Christmas wreath, after asking permission. He left it on the porch until Claire invited him inside.
Annie showed him the repaired paper tree.
"That's impressive," he said.
"You helped."
"Then it's a miracle."
She laughed.
Gabriel looked at Teddy, then at Claire.
"I need to ask you something difficult."
"I know."
"Was Julian Teddy's father?"
Claire nodded.
Gabriel sat very still.
For two years he had mourned his brother. Now a baby slept ten feet away, carrying a piece of Julian's life Gabriel had never known existed.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because Julian and I weren't together when he died. I was scared you'd think I wanted money. Then Denise told me your family would take Teddy."
"Denise said that?"
"She showed me a letter from Victor."
Gabriel closed his eyes.
"She lied."
"I didn't know that."
He looked at the baby.
"May I hold him?"
Claire hesitated, then placed Teddy carefully in his arms.
Gabriel supported the baby's head, awkward and reverent. Teddy studied his face and grabbed his tie.
Annie grinned.
"He likes you."
Gabriel's eyes filled.
"He looks like Julian."
Claire nodded.
For one gentle minute, nobody discussed trusts or money.
Then Helen called.
The blue room at Evelyn's lake house had been sealed by Victor after her death. A locksmith had opened it under a court-approved inventory order.
Inside was a locked cedar chest.
May you like
On the lid, written in Evelyn's handwriting, were four words:
FOR JULIAN'S CHILDREN. BOTH OF THEM.
