Patricia knocked twice on Evelyn's bedroom door before pushing it open.
Evelyn sat near the window reading a blue hardcover history book.
She looked up and adjusted her thick reading glasses with a smile.
Evelyn: Good morning Patricia, did Daniel make his morning flight safely?
Patricia: He just left for the airport and will be gone all day.
Patricia walked closer to the small table beside the comfortable armchair.
She set the thick legal documents directly in front of the elderly woman.
Patricia: I need you to sign these trust fund transfer papers right now.
Evelyn: I cannot sign anything without Daniel's lawyer present in the room.
Patricia: Daniel already approved this legal agreement before he left the house.
Evelyn picked up the papers and read the top paragraph very carefully.
She saw that the papers gave Patricia total control over the bank accounts.
It also transferred the deed of the mansion directly to Patricia's name.
Evelyn shook her head gently and set the papers back on the desk.
Evelyn: This is not what Daniel agreed to do with our estate.
Patricia: You are being stubborn and foolish about these simple business documents!
Evelyn: I built this estate with my husband fifty long years ago.
Evelyn: I will never hand over control to someone who tricks my son.
Patricia's face turned dark with sudden rage at those clear calm words.
She grabbed the papers and shoved them back into her leather folder.
Patricia: You will regret making things difficult for me today, old woman.
She turned around quickly and stomped out into the long upper hallway.
Leo hid inside the linen closet until Patricia walked down the stairs.
He ran into his grandmother's bedroom to check on her safety.
Leo: Grandma, are you okay after what Patricia said to you?
Evelyn: I am fine my sweet boy, do not worry about me.
Leo: She looked very angry when she walked out of your room.
Evelyn: Money makes some people lose their kindness and honest heart, Leo.
Evelyn patted his hand and smiled warmly to comfort the frightened boy.
An hour later Leo went down to the kitchen to get lunch.
He heard heavy footsteps coming from the basement door near the garage.
The basement held a massive reinforced steel vault built decades ago.
The vault held old family gold coins, land deeds, and rare tax records.
Patricia walked up from the basement holding a heavy set of keys.
She saw Leo standing by the kitchen island holding his apple box.
Patricia: Why are you wandering around the house instead of doing homework?
Leo: I was just getting a quick snack before going upstairs again.
Patricia: Go to your room right now and stay there until dinner.
Leo ran upstairs to tell his grandmother what was happening downstairs.
When he opened her bedroom door, the room was completely empty inside.
Her reading glasses lay crooked on the table beside an open book.
Her wooden walking cane was leaning uselessly against the cold wall.
Leo's heart began to beat very fast inside his small chest.
He called out her name three times but nobody answered his call.
He searched the library, the kitchen, and the back garden porch.
Grandmother Evelyn was nowhere to be found in the entire mansion house.