Chapter 2
Marcus reached the hallway first.
"Jayden!"
Our son stopped halfway up the stairs.
"Get out of my way."
"Come back downstairs."
"No."
Marcus followed him.
I grabbed Marcus's arm.
"Don't."
He looked at me.
"Why?"
Because suddenly I was afraid.
Not of Jayden physically.
Of what he knew.
And what he might have done.
"Let him go upstairs," I said.
Marcus stared at me for a second, then nodded.
Jayden disappeared behind his bedroom door.
A lock clicked.
Marcus looked toward the ceiling.
Then back at me.
"Tell me everything."
Lily was still standing beside the kitchen chair.
Her eyes were wet.
I knelt.
"Sweetheart, go get your headphones and watch your show in our bedroom."
"But Mommy—"
"I'm okay."
She touched my wet sleeve.
"He shouldn't have done that."
"No."
I kissed her forehead.
"He shouldn't have."
Marcus watched silently as she went upstairs.
The second she disappeared, he turned to me.
"What money?"
I grabbed a towel and wiped my face.
"Your mother called me six weeks ago."
"My mother barely talks to you."
"That's why I knew something was wrong."
Marcus crossed his arms.
"What did she say?"
"She found withdrawals from her retirement account."
His expression changed.
"How much?"
"At first, she thought twenty thousand."
"At first?"
I nodded.
"Then Terrence checked."
Marcus's brother worked in financial compliance for a regional bank.
He couldn't officially investigate our personal affairs, but he knew enough to recognize suspicious transactions.
"The total is closer to eighty-four thousand."
Marcus stared at me.
"Eighty-four thousand dollars?"
"Over fourteen months."
"Who took it?"
"We don't know."
That wasn't entirely true.
We had suspicions.
But suspicions weren't proof.
Marcus saw it on my face.
"You think you know."
I sat down.
"Terrence found transfers routed through two payment accounts and then into another bank."
"Whose bank?"
"We hadn't confirmed it yet."
Marcus's eyes went toward the stairs.
Until today.
The thought hung between us.
"Why didn't Mom tell me?" he asked.
"She was ashamed."
"Of being robbed?"
"She thought she had signed something without understanding it."
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
"And the ten thousand?"
"Terrence recovered it from one of the accounts. He couldn't send it directly to your mother because the bank had temporarily frozen her profile while they reviewed the fraud complaint."
"So he sent it to you."
"Temporarily."
Marcus paced across the kitchen.
"I should have known."
"She begged me not to tell you until we had evidence."
"She's my mother."
"I know."
He turned sharply.
"And Jayden somehow knew."
I looked upstairs.
"Yes."
Marcus whispered something under his breath.
Then his phone rang.
He checked the screen.
"Mom."
My stomach tightened.
He answered immediately.
"Mom?"
I could hear Evelyn's panicked voice through the phone.
"Marcus, somebody tried to access my account again."
He put the call on speaker.
"What happened?"
"I got an alert five minutes ago. Somebody tried resetting my password."
Marcus looked at me.
"Don't touch anything."
"I'm scared."
"We're coming over."
"Marcus, wait—"
But he ended the call.
Then we heard footsteps.
Jayden came downstairs carrying a backpack.
Marcus moved in front of the door.
"Where are you going?"
"Out."
"No."
"I'm an adult."
"Then you can answer an adult question."
Jayden gripped his backpack strap.
"What?"
Marcus held up his phone.
"Did you try accessing Grandma's bank account?"
Jayden stared at him.
"What?"
"Answer."
"No."
I watched his face carefully.
He was angry.
But underneath the anger was fear.
"Then why were you looking through my banking information?" I asked.
His eyes snapped toward me.
"I wasn't."
"You showed us a transfer notification."
"I saw it accidentally."
"On my private account?"
Silence.
Marcus stepped closer.
"Give me your phone."
Jayden laughed.
"No chance."
"Jayden."
"No."
Then he tried stepping around Marcus.
Marcus didn't move.
"I'm not going to fight you," Marcus said quietly. "But you're not walking out until we understand what is happening."
Jayden's breathing changed.
"You're trapping me?"
"I'm asking questions."
"You already decided I'm guilty."
"I haven't decided anything."
"Liar."
He looked at me.
"Both of you have always treated me like I'm the disappointment."
My anger softened for half a second.
"That's not true."
"It is."
"Jayden—"
"You paid for Lily's dance classes. You bought her new clothes. You celebrate everything she does."
"She's seven."
"And when I was seven?"
My chest tightened.
"What are you talking about?"
He looked away.
Marcus's expression softened too.
"Son."
Jayden shook his head.
"Don't."
For the first time that morning, he didn't look arrogant.
He looked hurt.
But before I could reach him, his phone buzzed.
Jayden glanced down.
His face went pale.
I saw only three words on the screen before he covered it.
DELETE EVERYTHING NOW.
Marcus saw them too.
"Who sent that?"
Jayden immediately locked his phone.
"Nobody."
Marcus held out his hand.
"Phone."
"No."
"Who sent that message?"
Jayden took another step backward.
Then his phone rang.
The caller name appeared.
UNCLE TERRENCE.
All three of us froze.
Jayden stared at the screen.
Marcus looked confused.
"Why is Terrence calling you?"
Jayden didn't answer.
The phone kept ringing.
Finally, Marcus took it from his hand.
Jayden didn't even fight him.
Marcus answered.
"Terrence?"
There was silence.
Then Terrence spoke.
"Marcus?"
"Why are you calling Jayden?"
Another pause.
"Where is he?"
"Standing in front of me."
Terrence cursed softly.
"Listen to me carefully. Don't let him leave."
Jayden closed his eyes.
Marcus's voice dropped.
"Why?"
"Because I just got the bank's internal review."
My heart began pounding.
Terrence continued.
"The account that received your mother's stolen money belongs to somebody connected to Jayden."
Marcus looked at our son.
"Who?"
Terrence took a breath.
"His girlfriend."
I blinked.
"What girlfriend?"
Jayden opened his eyes.
And the fear in them told me this was only beginning.
Terrence continued.
"Her name is Kiara."
Jayden whispered, "Stop."
But Terrence didn't.
"And there's something else."
Marcus gripped the phone tighter.
May you like
"What?"
"Jayden's name is on the account too."
