Chapter 238
Jonathan’s POV
Rollings House
I attached the letter to the list Vance gave me.
Then I placed every document I had on the table and exhaled.
“Okay, according to my mother’s letter, she told me to verify the houses before I take the decision to open the vault.
“And she also told me not to open the vault only to prove I’m the heir p>
Vance studied every document carefully.
I was more focused than before now that I had instructions on what to do.
“Let’s begin with the first house on the list p>
“And remember, even if this is sorted p>
“We cannot open the vault at the moment to verify the content inside the vault p>
“I gave the Blue Heart to John so he could take it to the Federal office p>
“They kept it in the Federal safe p>
“Don’t worry the gem is safe,” John said as he walked in and took a seat.
“There’s a code that only Jonathan has, so he’s the only one who can get it back, or else p>
“It will remain in the vault forever p>
I exhaled as I felt relieved the Blue Heart was in a safe place and only I had access to.
“I won’t bring it back unless opening the vault is the utmost need of the time p>
“Jonathan,” John asked. “I know the Blue Heart is the last thing you have of your mother, but do you have to keep it so safe p>
“You don’t understand,” I said, leaning forward to explain.
“To everyone else, including Alex, the Blue Heart is a rare heart-shaped blue gemstone bearing the crest of the River family, making it of immense value p>
“What they don’t know is…it’s also the key to the vault p>
“If it comes out p>
“I’m sure Alex will do all in will to get it p>
“And p>
I trailed off a bit.
“I’m also afraid for Veronica and you all p>
“I don’t want the River history to happen again p>
“My family’s safety is more important than some treaty p>
“In that case the Blue Heart stays where it is.” Vance said.
Nodding, I began to compare the first house with the list my mother left me.
The first house had a treaty with the River family, and all of the assets listed were legit.
The ownership was legit.
One by one we checked one house after the other.
I realized the investigation was becoming more manageable.
The next few houses were the same.
There was no contradiction in the details.
“So far so good p>
But then some of the houses didn’t have all of their documents in the archives.
Even after searching all of the archives, we couldn’t find them.
Doubt was seeding in our minds.
“Could these houses be p>
“No,” I said, exhaling.
“We have to remember these are at least three to four decades back p>
“So much has happened over these years p>
“We need to dig deeper p>
The records were becoming complicated by the hour.
There was no doubt some of the records had been lost in time. Others were not able to be traced to present time as their ownership had changed.
Several families gave most of their shares to the daughter as she was the more loved one, causing the jewelry name to be changed.
Still thanks to the parent and child bond being verified, it was still possible to identify them.
I was proud of my mother who had a future view as she must have expected this, the reason she told me to verify before handing over.
Now the houses whose daughters got married could still inherit their parents’ legacy.
I felt a sense of accomplishment.
“So these houses didn’t disappear,” I said.
“They just changed names, or the daughters forgot after marriage p>
“Yes,” Veronica said.
“Mother’s intention was for us to be careful about legitimacy and not be suspicious and leave at that p>
I picked the letter up again.
Don’t assume anyone is lying unless you are sure.
You have to remember we are only the caretakers. Initially the assets belong to the respective houses.
I realized what mother wanted to tell me to do.
She wanted me to protect the treaty and hand over the assets only to the rightful house.
We continued with the rest of the list.
One by one, each house proved legit.
Some of the houses required some additional documents.
Which the houses provided, giving us a complete picture of where we stand.
Some had to be asked as to who’s next in line as some of the supposed in line were no longer alive.
While some were confirmed immediately.
There is no doubt every question does have an answer, one only needs to find it.
As the lists were clearing, I was feeling lighter than before.
I saw now only a few more houses were left.
We checked them also with the list my mother left me.
Vance did the legal work and confirmed the signatures, the ownership history and the assets listed.
While I reviewed them one last time.
Every house that was added to the list the houses handed me, were all legit as all of them were in the list mother left for me.
I felt a certain sense of relief.
Seeing that I was done with the verification.
I told John to check if the list is complete.
If so, then every house is legit.
As John also confirmed the list was completed.
I knew where I stood.
The matter in hand was not about the people demanding access to their assets.
But the River treaty.
There was no doubt when the treaty was established,
The assets remained the property of the said house.
The treaty was only giving the River family the rights to keep it safe in their vault.
And maybe at the time that was the reason they decided to make the Blue Heart the key.
But there was still a question that had been in my mind from the day I knew about the treaty.
The question was p>
What exactly is or is my authority over the treaty?
“Now that every house is verified p>
“I need to know what or how much authority I have as the admin of the treaty p>
“If I do intend to take it p>