The Silent Watcher in the Attic
The storm was relentless as I drove to the secluded coastal cottage Eleanor had always kept off the family's Asset Registry.
The key I found in the box felt ice-cold in my palm.Inside the cottage, the air smelled of salt and ancient secrets. Following a series of cryptic notes found in the wooden box, I climbed the creaky stairs to the attic. Hidden behind a loose floorboard near the chimney was a heavy, reinforced Safe Deposit Box. 
When the lock finally yielded, I found a Property Deed for a commercial skyscraper in London—a Billion-Dollar Asset that had been hidden from the public Estate Appraisal for decades.
But the money wasn't the most shocking discovery.Tucked inside the deed was a frantic, hand-written letter from a Private Banking firm in Zurich. 
It was a formal warning addressed to Eleanor only weeks before her death: "The wolf is already inside the house. If any attempt is made to liquidate these Financial Holdings without your thumbprint, we will trigger an immediate Internal Audit." My blood ran cold.
Eleanor used "the wolf" as a code for someone she feared deeply within the family. 
I realized then that my husband hadn't been losing money on bad luck; he was actively engaged in a massive Investment Fraud scheme, and Eleanor had caught him red-handed.
As I stared at the Property Deed for the London skyscraper, the ancient doorbell of the cottage let out a sudden, violent ring. In a storm like this, no one should have been at the door.
I held my breath and peered through the peephole. My heart stopped. Standing in the shadows was a figure in a black raincoat, holding a wooden box identical to the one in my lap. Eleanor had sworn this box was unique.
If there was another one out there, then this multi-million dollar Legacy wasn't a gift—it was bait for a trap I had already walked into.
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