MASTER CHIEF BROOKS: "You don't have to handle everything alone."
Naomi gave a small nod.
She had spent years believing that strength meant carrying every burden without asking for help. But the people around her had shown that respect was not something she needed to demand.
She had earned it through her actions.
As she reached the entrance, her phone vibrated.
A message from Sebastian appeared.
SEBASTIAN: "You need to stop this before you destroy what's left of the family."
Naomi read it and put the phone away.
A second message arrived from Eleanor.
ELEANOR: "We need to talk privately. There are things you don't understand."
Naomi did not reply.
She had heard enough explanations that were never followed by evidence.
The following morning, Richard met Naomi at his office. Several additional folders had arrived overnight, including copies of the original financial statements and correspondence from the estate administrator.
Richard placed them across the conference table.
RICHARD: "We have received confirmation that Thomas Reed is willing to provide a formal statement."
NAOMI: "When can we meet him?"
RICHARD: "Tomorrow morning."
He opened one of the folders.
RICHARD: "There is also a new development concerning the disputed authorization."
Naomi leaned forward.
NAOMI: "What development?"
RICHARD: "The original document contains an additional processing note that was not included in the copy we initially received."
He turned the page toward her.
The note referred to an instruction to complete the transfer before the end of the month. It also directed the administrative office to send future correspondence through a specific family representative.
Naomi read the name.
SEBASTIAN MONTGOMERY.
Her expression changed.
NAOMI: "Why would my brother be controlling the correspondence?"
RICHARD: "That is what we need to establish."
He showed her another document.
It was a message dated several days after Frank's death. It instructed the office to stop sending copies of estate records to Naomi and to direct all future communication through Eleanor.
The message carried Sebastian's name.
Naomi stared at it.
She had spent years believing that she was simply not needed in the family business. Now the records suggested that someone had deliberately made sure she remained uninformed.
NAOMI: "He knew I was supposed to receive these documents."
RICHARD: "The original arrangement clearly included you."
NAOMI: "Then why did he stop them?"
Richard did not speculate.
RICHARD: "We need to ask him directly and compare his response with the records."
Naomi looked through the remaining pages.
One document referred to the transfer of Harbor House. Another contained a list of people who had been notified. Her name was missing.
At the bottom was a note in handwriting she did not recognize.
"Do not send the revised copy to Naomi."
She read it twice.
NAOMI: "Who wrote this?"
RICHARD: "We have not identified the handwriting yet."
NAOMI: "Where is the revised copy?"
Richard looked at her.
RICHARD: "Thomas believes the original may have been returned to the Montgomery estate."
Naomi understood immediately.
The missing document could still be inside the house where she had grown up.
The same house where Eleanor and Sebastian had spent years telling her that there was nothing left to discuss.
NAOMI: "Then we need to find it."
RICHARD: "We will need to do that through the proper legal process."
NAOMI: "I understand."
She looked out of the office window.
For years, she had thought that leaving the estate meant leaving behind the problems of her family. She had believed that distance would allow everyone to move forward.
But her father's final instructions had followed her across that distance.
And now she was beginning to see why he had been so determined to protect them.
Richard closed the folder.
RICHARD: "There is one more thing Thomas told me."
Naomi turned back.
RICHARD: "He said your father gave him a direct instruction shortly before the first major transfer. An instruction that appears to contradict the document used to authorize the payment."
NAOMI: "What instruction?"
Richard placed a handwritten note on the table.
The message was short.
"Do not release another dollar until I have reviewed the accounts personally."
Naomi stared at it.
The note was dated two weeks before the transfer had been processed.
If the instruction was genuine, then someone had knowingly continued moving the money after Frank had ordered them to stop.
She looked at Richard.
NAOMI: "Did Thomas follow that instruction?"
Richard paused.
RICHARD: "He says he did initially. But someone later contacted him and told him that Frank had changed his mind."
NAOMI: "Who contacted him?"
Richard looked down at the records.
RICHARD: "He says the instruction came from your mother."