Where do we even start?
Charlotte’s pov
Loveth, Kate, and I quietly climbed into Stanley's house through the kitchen window, which, thankfully, had been left open. Right after Luther left for work, I called them and told them everything. Kate, being her usual bold self, suggested we go through Mum’s things to see if we could find any documents about my father. I didn’t hesitate. There was no way I was going to sit back and let my father's house slip away.
To make it easier, I had called Stanley earlier and asked where he’d gone, pretending I wanted to visit him and Mum for a chat.
“Where do we even start?” Kate asked, biting into an apple she found on the kitchen counter.
“Why are you acting sneaky?” I laughed. “No one’s home.”
“And you were tiptoeing too, dummy,” she shot back with her mouth full, using my words against me.
“We don’t have time for snacks, Kat,” Loveth said, pulling her toward the staircase. She groaned but followed, still chewing.
“Stanley said he wouldn’t be back till six, and Mum’s shift ends at four,” I added with a shrug. “We’ve got a good window.”
“We’re still trespassing, in case that slipped your mind,” Loveth muttered, but he kept following us, dragging Kate along.
“He’s such a chicken,” Kate said, laughing after she swallowed.
“I’m not scared, dumbass,” Loveth replied, rolling his eyes. “I just don’t want either of you getting into a mess you can’t fix. So let’s move fast and leave.”
He jogged ahead, Kate trailing behind, complaining playfully. They looked so carefree together. Laughing, teasing, like nothing in the world was heavy on them. For a moment, I wished I could join them, really laugh. But it was hard to pretend when I felt like I was breaking apart inside.
“Charlotte?” Kate’s hand waved in front of my face.
“Do you want to poke my eyes out?” I batted it away, pressing my lips together.
“You spaced out,” she said softly. “Look, I know this is hard. Accepting your mum could be this selfish isn’t easy, but you have to stay focused.”
I nodded slowly, swallowing the lump in my throat.
“So, where do you think she’d keep important documents?” Loveth asked as we reached the top of the stairs. I hadn’t forgotten about how he told Luther something and still hadn’t told me, but I pushed it aside for now.
“I’m not sure,” I replied. “Maybe we start with the master bedroom. She only moved in yesterday, so I doubt she’s had time to hide anything properly.”
To our relief, the bedroom door wasn’t locked. A few unpacked boxes sat in a corner, but the rest of the room was already neatly arranged. I hadn’t seen most of our old belongings yet, and I had no idea where Mum had placed everything.
We spread out and began checking the boxes, one at a time, each of us hoping to find something, anything, that could keep my father's house from falling into the wrong hands.
“Why is Stanley still living with her after everything he saw?” Loveth asked as we searched through the boxes.
“She told him not to come crawling back, but I guess he apologized. I can’t really blame him,” I admitted. “He doesn’t deserve to be hurt just for defending me.”
That was the truth, even though I still worried about him. Being around my mum was like walking through a field of landmines, you never knew when she would explode.
“But if she’s fighting for your dad’s things like this, don’t you think she’s capable of doing the same to Stanley someday?” Kate asked.
“I just hope he sees that,” I said quietly.
We didn’t say anything else after that. The room fell into silence again as we opened box after box, but all we found were piles of designer clothes, glittering jewellery, and her usual collection of luxury items, nothing useful.
“I don’t think there’s anything here,” I sighed, leaning against the wall. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and was thankful I’d tied my hair up in a bun. Otherwise, I’d have been fighting with it every second.
“Don’t give up,” Kate said, pacing now. “Think. If you had something as important as legal documents, where would you hide them?”
Loveth chimed in, “Did you ever notice anything strange in your mum’s room? Something she always told you not to touch, maybe after your dad passed?”
I thought hard, trying to search every memory I had. My mum could’ve hidden them anywhere, but I needed to get it right. I couldn’t risk leaving empty-handed.
“Let’s try this,” Kate said. “Does she lock her wardrobe or her dresser?”
“Wardrbe, no. Dresser… yes,” I answered slowly, my mind racing. But then I remembered something that made me stop.
None of her old furniture was in this house. Not a single thing we used to own was here. Maybe they were stacked in another room?
We checked the room next to the master bedroom first, nothing. One by one, we searched every room upstairs. Still nothing. That left downstairs. I was starting to feel the weight of disappointment settle on my shoulders. Even as we climbed down the stairs again, my legs felt like lead.
“Hey, we’ll find them,” Loveth said, gently rubbing my arm. The touch made me ache for Luther’s warm side hugs.
Without thinking too much, I pulled out my phone. Despite Kate and Loveth’s protests, I pressed it to my ear. I didn’t know why I trusted Stanley, but something in me said I could.
When he answered, I felt a wave of relief wash over me.
“Hi, it’s me again,” I said with a nervous chuckle as Kate motioned for me to take deep breaths.
“I just have a quick question. If you don’t know the answer, it’s okay, but…”
“Charlotte, slow down,” Stanley said gently. “You don’t have to panic. I’ll help if I can.”
His voice reminded me so much of my dad’s. It was the only thing that kept my heart from racing out of control.
“I was wondering… do you know where Mum kept our stuff? I need some of my clothes, and I can’t exactly call her to ask…”
I let the sentence trail off, praying he’d believe the excuse. When he paused, my heart jumped into my throat.
“She sold them, honey,” he said finally. “But the rest of your things are in her storage unit. She’s planning to sell them too. Except for her dresser. That’s the only thing she brought back, even before our honeymoon.”
If he had told me that a week ago, I might’ve been shocked. But now? Nothing surprised me about her anymore. She sold nearly everything, yet held on to the dresser? There had to be something inside it. I quickly ended the call with a thank-you, not letting on where I was or what I was really doing. Stanley had no idea we were standing in his house.
“He just told me the only piece of furniture she brought was her dresser,” I said, still trying to wrap my head around it.
“We only have the guestroom left,” Loveth pointed out, stopping in front of a wooden door we hadn’t yet opened.
“Bingo!” I exclaimed as Kate twisted the knob and pushed the door open.
There it was, my mum’s dresser, sitting right beside another one painted white. Just like Stanley had said.
“Why would she insist on bringing it when every room in this house already has a dresser?” I muttered, approaching the wooden piece of furniture cautiously, my heart beginning to thud harder with each step.
I pulled open the drawers, one after another. Nothing. They were all empty. Frustration bubbled in my chest as I shut the last drawer and pressed my fingers to my temples. The headache was building again, dull and persistent.
“Wait,” Loveth said suddenly, stepping forward. He crouched down and opened the bottom drawer, then pulled out the middle one as well, staring at both carefully.
“Do you see the difference?” he asked, pointing between them.
I leaned in. Sure enough, the bottom drawer’s base was made of darker plywood, almost yellow, while the middle one matched the silver-white interior of the dresser.
Loveth tapped the base of the bottom drawer, then did the same to the middle one. The sound was off, subtle, but definitely different. It was hollow.
Without another word, he pulled out a small pocket knife and carefully ran it along the edges of the drawer’s base. With a light push and lift, a thin piece of plywood popped up.
“A secret compartment,” Kate breathed, stepping closer.
We all stared at the hidden envelope resting inside like a treasure no one was meant to find.
“H-How?” I stammered as Loveth picked it up and handed it to me, my hands trembling slightly.
“When you grow up with a nosy mum like mine, you learn how to hide things,” he said with a shrug. “Guess that skill finally paid off.”
I didn’t even laugh. My fingers were already tearing into the envelope.
“Spread them on the bed,” Kate said. There were several documents inside, and it would be easier to see everything laid out.
We placed them across the duvet, papers yellowed with age, some official-looking, others handwritten. But one stopped me cold.
A driver’s licence. I picked it up slowly, the photo unmistakably my mother’s. But the name...
“Marya Sanders,” I whispered, my eyes darting over the rest of the papers. My chest tightened. “This… this isn’t just some fake name she made up.”
The passport. The licence. The paperwork. All of it was real. All of it is legal.
And it meant that I didn’t know who my mother really was.
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