I looked at the note again.
I looked at the note again.
My fingers were trembling so badly that the paper almost fell out of my hand.
There was only one sentence on it.
“Mrs. Elise Van Dalen, I know what happened to your inheritance. My name is Thomas Hart. Your aunt did not tell you everything.”
I felt my breath catch.
Van Dalen.
That was my maiden name.
A name I almost never used anymore.
I looked up at the man with the hat.
He stood silently opposite me. The snow melted slowly on his dark coat.
“How… how do you know my name?”
He did not answer.
Instead, he pointed to the puppy that was under my coat.
Then he took out his phone and showed me a photo.
I froze.
The same puppy was in the photo.
But he was not alone.
Next to him stood an old woman…………….
Mijn hart sloeg een slag over.
Ik kende haar.
“Dat… dat is my aunt.”
De man knikte.
Op de photo was my aunt misschien vijf jonger. The puppy’s shelter is warm and light before the camera.
Maar er was iets anders dat me nog meer schokte.
Op de achtergrond stond een groot huis.
And now it’s already there.
Het was het house van mijn ouders.
Het huis dat volgens my aunt jaren geleden verkocht was om mijn vaders schulden af te betalen.
“Waar hebt u deze photos vandaan?” vroeg ik.
De man keek me eindelijk recht aan.
“Van uw vader.”
Ik lachte zenuwachtig.
“Mijn vader est al drieëntwintig jar dood.”
“Ik weet het.”
Zijn antwoord was zo kalm dat ik er juist banger van werd.
Hij stak zijn telefoon weg.
“Maar vóór zijn dood heeft hij iets achtergelaten.”
“What?”
“A file.”
Ik keek naar de puppy.
Hij was inmiddels rustiger geworden. It’s a little warm and it’s a little bit darker……………
“Why are you telling me this?”
Thomas looked at the shop behind me.
To the sign that stated that staff were not allowed to bring animals inside.
Then he looked back at me.
“Because you were going to be fired today.”
I frowned.
“What?”
And because that was exactly what someone wanted.
My stomach churned.
“How?”
Thomas did not answer immediately.
He took a second envelope out of his coat.
This time my name was on it in full.
ELISE VAN DALEN.
My hands got cold.
Only open it when you are home.
“Why?”
“Because you might not want to go back to your aunt anymore.”
My heart started beating faster.
My aunt has been dead for years.
Thomas stared at me intently.
Your aunt?
He slowly shook his head.
That is impossible.
I felt my mouth getting dry.
What do you mean?
He looked around, as if checking if anyone was listening.
Then he leaned slightly towards me.
The woman you called Aunt was not your aunt.
I took a step back.
That is nonsense.
Your parents never officially appointed her as guardian.
“But she managed my inheritance!”
“Precisely.”
Those two words cut deeper than everything Greg had said to me that morning.
I thought back to my fifteenth birthday.
To the day I heard that my parents had passed away.
To all the papers I had to sign.
To my aunt who kept saying:
Don’t worry, Elise. I’ll take good care of you.
I had believed her.
I had no other choice.
“How much?” I asked softly.
Thomas looked at me.
“What?”
“How much did she steal?”
He remained silent.
Then he said:
That depends on what you mean by your inheritance.
I felt my knees go weak again.
Say it.
Your parents did not have a small inheritance.
I swallowed.
“How many?”
Thomas took a deep breath.
Approximately 4.8 million euros.
The world seemed to stand still for a moment.
I started laughing.
Not because it was funny.
But because my brain refused to accept what I heard.
That is not possible.
Your aunt told you that your parents had debts.
“Yes.”
She told you that the house had to be sold.
“Yes.”
She told you that hardly anything was left.
I nodded slowly.
Thomas looked at me.
That was all a lie.
My eyes filled with tears.
Four million eight hundred thousand euros.
And me?
I had worked for years for minimum wage.
I had worked night shifts.
I had sometimes skipped a meal to be able to pay my electricity bill.
I had never allowed myself to dream of a better education, because I thought my parents hadn’t left anything behind.
“Where is that money?” I whispered.
Thomas looked at the puppy.
That is why I am here.
I didn’t understand it.
He pointed at the animal.
His name is Max.
I looked at the little dog.
How do you know that?
“Because he was your father’s.”
I felt a shiver run down my spine.
My father didn’t have a dog.
That’s what you thought.
Thomas took a key out of his pocket.
An old, metal key.
At the end was a small plate with the number 317 .
Your father gave this to someone just before his death.
“How?”
Thomas looked at me.
“Me.”
He placed the key in my hand.
And he said that I could only give it to you when you were an adult, living independently, and no longer dependent on your aunt.
My fingers closed around the key.
“But why now?”
Thomas looked at my wet clothes.
Regarding my dismissal.
To the puppy.
Your aunt was contacted this morning.
My heart skipped a beat.
“My aunt is dead.”
Not the woman you mean.
I looked at him in shock.
Thomas took out his phone again.
He opened a message.
A photo appeared on the screen.
My breath caught in my throat.
A woman was sitting in a restaurant.
Aged, gray hair, expensive coat.
But I recognized her eyes immediately.
My aunt.
Alive.
I couldn’t feel my legs anymore.
“That is not possible…”
She has been living under a different name for years.
“Why?”
Thomas looked at me.
Because she knew that you would one day search for the truth.
Suddenly, Max started barking.
Not to Thomas.
To the street behind us.
I turned around.
A black car was parked on the other side of the street.
The engine was running.
The windows were dark.
Thomas froze.
“Do not move.”
“Why?”
He grabbed my arm.
They found us.
The car started moving slowly forward.
Thomas pulled me into an alley.
Who are they?
He looked back.
The people who have been trying for twenty-three years to prevent you from discovering what your parents really left behind.
Then he looked at the key in my hand.
“An Elise…”
“And?”
His face became serious.
The safe associated with this key is not located in a bank.
He pointed at Max.
He stands under the house where you grew up.
I stared at him.
But that house no longer exists.
Thomas slowly shook his head.
That is exactly what everyone had to believe