After My Father’s Funeral, My Stepmother Left Me Behind and Claimed Everything—Then I Called the Number Dad Had Hidden in My Pocket

But it raised questions.

More concerning were messages recovered from Vanessa’s phone.

One message sent to Curtis several weeks before Michael’s death read:

I need certainty that the business does not end up controlled by the boy or Daniel.

Another:

Michael is getting suspicious. We need this handled before he changes anything else.

Daniel read those messages twice.

Then closed the file.