Chapter 4
Dad didn't move.
"What savings account?"
Denise smiled like she'd won something.
I stood behind him, gripping the hem of my skirt.
She walked toward the kitchen counter.
Then picked up her phone.
"You really don't pay attention to anything, do you?"
Dad's face hardened.
"Denise."
She ignored him.
"You're always working. Always traveling. Always trusting me to handle things."
I watched her swipe across the screen.
Then she turned it toward Dad.
He stared.
I couldn't see what was on it.
But I saw his face change.
"What is this?"
Denise shrugged.
"Our joint savings account."
Dad's jaw tightened.
"Why is there so much money missing?"
She smiled.
"Because I needed it."
"For what?"
"Household expenses."
Dad looked around the room.
"The mortgage is paid automatically. Utilities are covered through my business account."
Denise rolled her eyes.
"Then maybe you should have been home more often."
I felt a strange ache in my chest.
She always said that when she was angry.
That Dad worked too much.
That I was the reason he couldn't spend more time with her.
Sometimes she told me I was ruining their marriage.
Now she was saying it to him.
Dad took a breath.
"How much did you withdraw?"
Denise folded her arms.
"That's none of your business."
He stared at her.
"It's our account."
She gave a small laugh.
"Exactly."
Dad stepped away and called the bank.
I watched his expression change as he listened.
Then he sat down slowly.
His face looked gray.
"Seventy-two thousand dollars?"
My stomach dropped.
I didn't understand how much that was.
But I knew it was a lot.
Denise looked away.
Dad asked the bank representative several questions.
He wrote numbers on a piece of paper.
Then ended the call.
For a long moment, nobody spoke.
Finally, he looked at Denise.
"Where did the money go?"
She sighed.
"Investments."
"What investments?"
She hesitated.
Then said, "My brother's business."
Dad stared.
"Your brother?"
Denise nodded.
"He needed help."
Dad laughed once.
It wasn't a happy laugh.
"You took seventy-two thousand dollars without telling me?"
She crossed her arms.
"I thought marriage meant sharing."
Dad's expression became cold.
"Sharing doesn't mean stealing."
Denise's face twisted.
"Don't you dare call me a thief."
I stepped closer to Dad.
My heart was pounding.
I wanted to disappear.
I had never seen them fight like this.
Dad noticed me.
He stopped.
Then knelt beside me.
"Maya, sweetheart, are you okay?"
I shook my head.
His expression softened.
"I know."
He looked toward Denise.
"You're not going near her."
Denise scoffed.
"Marcus, stop acting like I'm dangerous."
I flinched.
Dad saw it.
His jaw tightened.
Then he took my hand.
"Come on."
We went into the hallway.
He called Aunt Rachel again.
She was Dad's older sister.
She lived about twenty minutes away.
I hadn't seen her much since Denise moved in.
Denise said Aunt Rachel was jealous of our family.
She said Rachel didn't respect our marriage.
So Dad stopped inviting her over as often.
Now I wondered whether Denise had been lying about that too.
Dad spoke quietly.
"Rachel, I need you here as soon as possible."
He listened.
Then said, "Bring the trust documents."
My stomach twisted.
He ended the call.
I looked up.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, baby?"
"Am I in trouble?"
His face crumpled.
"No, sweetheart."
I swallowed.
"Because I told you?"
He knelt.
He took both my hands.
"Maya, telling me the truth was the bravest thing you could have done."
I began crying.
He hugged me.
I held him tightly.
Then he whispered something.
"I'm so sorry I didn't see it sooner."
I didn't know what to say.
For months, I'd wished he would notice.
The way I stopped smiling.
The way I started hiding food.
The way I stopped asking friends to come over.
I thought maybe he didn't care.
But now I could hear him crying.
And I knew he cared.
He just hadn't understood.
That didn't erase what happened.
But it changed something inside me.
Twenty minutes later, Aunt Rachel arrived.
She was wearing a navy-blue dress and carrying a large folder.
When she saw me, her expression changed.
"Oh, Maya."
She knelt and hugged me.
I buried my face against her shoulder.
She smelled like vanilla perfume.
The same perfume she always wore.
"I missed you, sweetheart."
I started crying.
"I missed you too."
She pulled back.
Then looked at my hands.
Her face hardened.
"What happened?"
Dad answered.
"We have a lot to talk about."
Aunt Rachel stood.
She looked toward Denise.
My stepmother was sitting on the sofa again.
But she wasn't smiling anymore.
Rachel placed the folder on the coffee table.
"Marcus, I brought everything."
Dad opened it.
There were papers.
Bank statements.
Legal documents.
And a photograph of Mommy.
I stared at the picture.
Mommy was smiling.
She was holding me as a baby.
Her hair was styled in long curls.
I touched the photograph.
"Mommy."
Aunt Rachel put her arm around me.
"She loved you so much."
I nodded.
My throat hurt.
Dad examined the documents.
Then stopped.
His eyes widened.
"Rachel, what is this?"
She leaned closer.
Then looked at him.
"That's the account your wife was never supposed to have access to."
Denise stood suddenly.
"Excuse me?"
Aunt Rachel turned.
"You heard me."
Denise stepped closer.
"Those documents are private."
Rachel raised an eyebrow.
"Then why are you worried about them?"
Dad stared at a bank statement.
His face became pale.
"There's a withdrawal."
Rachel nodded.
"I saw it this morning."
Dad looked up.
"Twenty-eight thousand dollars?"
I felt sick.
More missing money.
More lies.
Denise's expression changed.
She looked toward the front door.
Then back at Dad.
"I can explain."
Dad slowly stood.
"Then explain why money from my daughter's protected trust appears to have been transferred into an account connected to you."
Denise's mouth opened.
May you like
Nothing came out.
And for the first time since Dad came home, I saw real fear in her eyes.
