Chapter 12 - The Threat Behind the Christmas Card
I changed the boys' school pickup arrangements that afternoon.
Rebecca helped me coordinate additional privacy precautions.
Sarah contacted the appropriate authorities and documented the attempted records access.
The school principal agreed to review visitor procedures without alarming the children.
I didn't tell the boys someone had tried to obtain their information.
Not yet.
There was no confirmed direct threat.
But I wasn't taking chances.
Three days later, an envelope arrived at my house.
No return address.
Inside was an expensive Christmas card.
The front showed a snow-covered mansion.
Inside, someone had written:
You should have stayed away from the Caldwells.
I stared at the message.
Then called Sarah.
She instructed me to preserve the envelope and document how it had arrived.
I did.
For the rest of the day, I tried to focus on work.
But every ordinary sound made me look toward the windows.
A car slowing outside.
A delivery truck stopping at the neighboring house.
The wind rattling the back gate.
I hated that feeling.
I had built a peaceful home.
And someone wanted me frightened inside it.
That evening, Ethan arrived for a scheduled meeting with the boys.
It was his third supervised visit.
He had been punctual.
Respectful.
And careful not to pressure them.
Lucas remained cautious.
Henry had begun asking him questions about airplanes.
Jack wanted to know whether he'd ever jumped from one.
Sam had developed an intense interest in Ethan's mathematical abilities.
Their relationship was moving slowly.
Exactly as it should.
Before the boys entered the room, I showed Ethan the Christmas card.
His face changed.
"Who sent this?"
"I don't know."
"Mother?"
"Possibly."
His jaw tightened.
"I'll ask her."
"No."
He looked surprised.
"Why not?"
"Because whoever sent it may want a reaction."
I placed the card inside an evidence sleeve.
"Sarah is handling it."
Ethan stared at the handwriting.
Then said something that made me stop.
"I've seen that lettering before."
I looked up.
"Where?"
He frowned.
"At the foundation."
My pulse quickened.
"Whose writing?"
"I can't be sure."
"Think."
He studied the card.
Then shook his head.
"It resembles the handwriting of Mother's former executive assistant."
I sat forward.
"Name?"
"Elaine Porter."
The notary.
The woman whose name appeared on the questionable affidavit.
I felt a cold certainty settle over me.
"Where is she?"
"I don't know."
"Can you contact her?"
"Not without my attorney."
I nodded.
"Good. Don't."
The investigation was already complicated.
I didn't need Ethan attempting to play detective.
But the possibility that Elaine Porter remained involved concerned me.
She had worked for the foundation.
She had notarized important documents.
And now her handwriting might be connected to a threatening card.
Someone had helped Victoria create the lie.
Perhaps that someone was afraid the investigation would reach them.
The next morning, Sarah called.
"Grace, investigators have identified Elaine's current employer."
"Where?"
"A private administrative services company in Denver."
"Has she been questioned?"
"Counsel has been contacted. I can't discuss investigative details that haven't been disclosed."
I understood.
But I couldn't shake the feeling that time was running out.
That afternoon, Lucas came home carrying an envelope.
My heart stopped.
"Where did you get that?"
He looked surprised.
"A woman gave it to the school office."
I took it carefully.
"Did you see her?"
"No. Mrs. Jensen gave it to me."
I turned it over.
My name was written on the front.
Inside was a birthday card.
Not for Lucas.
For all four boys.
The message read:
Your grandmother loves you, even if your mother refuses to let you know her.
I closed my eyes.
Victoria.
Lucas watched me.
"Is it from Grandma Victoria?"
I looked at him.
"Yes."
He lowered his head.
"Does she really love us?"
My chest tightened.
I crouched in front of him.
"I don't know what she feels, sweetheart."
He nodded.
"But love is something people show through how they treat you."
He looked at the card.
"She wasn't nice at Christmas."
"No."
"Can people change?"
"Sometimes."
He thought about that.
Then said, "I hope she does."
I hugged him.
Later, I contacted the school.
The card had been left at the front desk by a courier.
No visitor had approached the children directly.
Still, the incident reinforced the need for clear boundaries.
Sarah sent Victoria's attorney formal notice that communications with the boys must go through me or counsel.
Victoria responded through her attorney two days later.
She claimed I was unfairly preventing her from building a relationship with her grandchildren.
I read the statement.
Then placed it on my desk.
Eight years of denying their existence.
One disastrous Christmas dinner.
And now she wanted to be called Grandma.
I was still staring at the letter when Natalie called.
"Grace, we need to talk."
Her voice sounded different.
Frightened.
"What happened?"
"Elaine contacted me."
I stood.
"When?"
"An hour ago."
"What did she say?"
"She wants immunity."
My pulse quickened.
"From what?"
Natalie swallowed.
"She says Victoria ordered the documents altered."
I closed my eyes.
"And?"
"She says she has copies of the instructions."
I gripped the phone.
"Has she contacted investigators?"
"Her lawyer has."
I exhaled.
For the first time, it felt as though the wall Victoria had built was beginning to crack.
Then Natalie said something else.
"Grace, Elaine claims the foundation money wasn't stolen just to protect Victoria's position."
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"She says the financial transfers were connected to a secret obligation."
"What obligation?"
Natalie hesitated.
"A payment Richard made years ago to prevent a military contractor scandal."
I stared at the wall.
"How is that related to my children?"
"Because the contractor involved was also connected to the laboratory that produced Ethan's fake fertility report."
My blood ran cold.
The same organization.
The same financial network.
The same hidden money.
And suddenly the story that had begun with a Christmas invitation became something far more dangerous.
Because if Elaine was telling the truth, the forged fertility report wasn't an isolated document created by a controlling mother.
It was part of a much larger system of fraudulent records and financial favors.
May you like
A system Victoria knew how to use.
And one she'd turned against me when I became inconvenient.
