The next morning brought cold rain against the large clear glass windows.
David sat at the long wooden dining table with three thick yellow folders.
He was reading every single line of his late father's final trust document.
Lily was sitting on the rug quietly playing with her wooden red blocks.
Lily: Look Daddy, I built a tall house like this big one.
David: That looks wonderful, my sweet little girl.
Lily: Can we stay here forever with all these nice flowers?
David: I am working very hard to make sure we stay right here.
The heavy wooden door opened and a man in a grey suit entered.
It was Robert, the family lawyer who handled the estate for twenty years.
Robert: Good morning David, we have a very serious issue to discuss.
David: What kind of problem did Margarethe create for us now?
Robert: The original copy of the land deed has gone completely missing.
David stood up quickly from his chair and dropped his ink pen down.
David: That original paper was inside the locked steel box yesterday.
Robert: Someone opened the box late last night without using the key.
David: Margarethe has the master set of key cards for this house.
Robert: Without that original paper, the judge might pause the trust money.
Lily looked up from her wooden toys with wide worried brown eyes.
Lily: Did somebody steal something bad from our house, Daddy?
David: No sweetie, everything is going to be completely fine today.
David walked across the polished wood floor toward the corner office space.
The small steel safe sat open behind the dark green window curtain.
The lock mechanism was damaged like someone forced it open with iron.
David: She is desperate because she knows the money belongs to Lily.
Robert: If we cannot produce the original deed, we lose the house.
David: There must be another copy stored in the downtown court building.
Robert: The city archive burned three years ago during the big storm.
David rubbed his face with both hands as a heavy sigh left him.
He remembered his father telling him about a secret second key.
His father had hidden important documents somewhere safe inside the mansion walls.
David: My father always prepared for Margarethe's greedy tricks.
Robert: Where do you think he put the spare copies back then?
David: He told me the key was tied to the red ruby necklace.
Robert looked over at Lily sitting quietly near the dark red fireplace.
The red jewel shone under her tiny hand as she touched it gently.
Robert: You mean the ruby necklace your late wife wore every day?
David: Yes, the stone has a tiny hidden compartment built inside it.
Robert: Does Margarethe know about the hidden secret inside the red stone?
David: She suspects the stone is valuable, but not why it matters.
Margarethe walked down the wide hallway holding a stack of white letters.
Margarethe: Are you two still whispering about things you cannot win?
David: We know what you did to the safe in the office last night.
Margarethe: I have no idea what you are talking about, young man.
David: You stole the original deed to break the inheritance trust line.
Margarethe: That paper was fake and my lawyer will prove it easily.
Robert: Mrs. Vance, tampering with estate records is a severe federal crime.
Margarethe: You work for this family, Robert, so watch your tongue here.
Robert: My duty is to the late owner's legal written last wishes.
Margarethe turned her cold eyes toward Lily's bright red necklace again.
Margarethe: That little trinket belongs in the display case upstairs right now.
David: Touch that necklace and you will regret it immediately, Margarethe.
Margarethe: We will see who owns this house by the end of this week.
She turned around with a crisp rustle of her dark blue dress.
David looked down at his daughter and knew time was running out.