Having entered the dusty old barn, Jemma stood in front of it. It still annoyed her that she had not gotten as much as her siblings, but she felt there was more to it than she realized.
As soon as she found the scrawled note on the back of an old photo, she had to look closer.
Jemma had doubts despite her trust in her father and the knowledge that he would never intentionally steer her astray. These were the writings of a man on the verge of death.
Is it possible that they were just the writings of a madman? Could some of what he said be true? It was up to her to find out.
It had been decades since the old barn had been used. There was no maintenance being done, and everything was run down. What made him want to give his daughter this inheritance while his sons received so much more?
She used her phone torch for light while steering around the old rotting hay bales. There was a strange smell in the air, but she didn’t realize how close she was to the truth.
Jemma searched the barn for an hour without finding anything unusual. She was on the verge of giving up. She even climbed the dilapidated ladder to check out the old loft as a last resort. She found nothing there, but it gave her a different perspective.
As she stared at the barn floor, she wished she knew why her father had left her this old place. Her eyes were opened at that moment.
Her bird’s eye view now allowed her to see something she could not have seen on the ground. There was something hidden between the hay bales and the wall.
Her hands trembled when she realized there must have been a reason for hiding it. Upon seeing the hidden doors, she hopped down from the loft and raced towards them.
After much struggle, Jemma managed to push one of the hay bales to one side and see what was hidden beneath. A cellar door led her to believe there was a deep underground passageway.
The old doors squeaked as she pulled them. The doors weren’t even locked, which surprised her. She saw a set of stairs as she looked down into the earth. There was no way she could escape its darkness.
As Jemma descended the old staircase, she decided to be brave. Under the stairs, she realized they had gone on for much longer than they should have. As she followed the stairs, she found herself deep underground.
In the end, she found herself in a concrete room. There must have been 15 feet of underground space. Compared to what awaited her, that was nothing.
During her search for an old light switch, Jemma came across one. She assumed it would also be broken like the one in the barn. Her eyes were filled with light as she flicked it up. It was now clear to her what the small room was for.
The old barn hadn’t been used for decades. Everything was run down and hadn’t been maintained. She collapsed to her knees when she saw what her father had hidden from the world.
Jemma couldn’t believe what she was looking at. There was a small vault inside of the concrete room. She had no idea what the combination was, but then she reread the note.
“Remember your birthday. The 4th of June, 1990,” She murmured to herself. She put her hand on the dial and turned it. After putting in 4-6-9-0, it clicked and opened.
Jemma’s mouth hung open as she saw what was on the shelves of the small vault. She immediately knew it must have been why her dad had visited the farm when she was small after her granddad’s death.
It was what Peter had left to Adam and now what he was leaving to his daughter. There were bars of heavy silver sitting on the shelves. There must have been at least 30 pounds of it. Jemma knew her life would never be the same again.
