My hands shook so badly I had to set the letter down for a moment.
There was a safe.
I looked around and spotted the framed photo on the wall—Robert and me on the Rialto Bridge, laughing as a street musician serenaded us during our thirty-fifth anniversary trip. I rose unsteadily and moved toward it.
The safe opened with a soft click when I entered our anniversary date. Inside, I found a thick portfolio and several USB drives neatly labeled. The top document in the portfolio was titled:
Estate of Robert Campbell: Complete Asset Inventory for Susan Campbell.
I flipped it open and immediately had to sit down again as columns of numbers and property descriptions swam before my eyes. Apartment buildings in Seattle. Commercial property in Chicago. A small vineyard in Northern California. Stock portfolios, bonds, private equity investments.
The total value at the bottom of the page made my ears ring.
With numbed fingers, I returned to Robert’s letter.
I know this is overwhelming, and I’m sorry for keeping all of this from you. At first, it was just a project to channel my anxiety about the future. But as the portfolio grew, I realized revealing it prematurely might put it at risk if Jonathan discovered the extent of these holdings.
