Chapter 6
Jayden didn't go to Terrence's apartment that night.
Instead, he went downtown with Detective Brooks.
Voluntarily.
Marcus and I followed in our car.
I spent the entire drive staring through the windshield and wondering how our Saturday breakfast had turned into a criminal investigation.
At the station, an attorney met us.
Her name was Renee Marshall.
Terrence had called her.
She specialized in financial crimes.
Renee spoke to Jayden privately for almost forty minutes.
Then she came out to the waiting room.
"He's going to cooperate."
Marcus stood.
"Is he being arrested?"
"Not tonight."
My knees almost gave out.
"Not tonight?"
Renee sat across from us.
"Kiara says Jayden orchestrated the transfers. Jayden says Kiara and Darius manipulated him into giving them access."
"Which story do the police believe?" I asked.
"They don't know yet."
"Can the messages prove it?"
"Some may."
She looked at us carefully.
"But Jayden admits he made the first unauthorized withdrawal himself."
Marcus nodded.
"So he's guilty."
"Of something, yes."
The words were hard to hear.
Even when you know your child has done wrong, hearing someone else say it feels different.
Renee continued.
"The question is how much responsibility he carries for everything that followed."
"What happens now?"
"He gives the detective his phone. They examine financial records. We don't interfere."
I nodded.
Marcus asked, "What about Darius?"
"The police are taking that threat seriously."
It was nearly midnight when we returned home.
Lily was sleeping at Evelyn's house.
My kitchen floor was still damp near the cabinet where water had splashed.
The broken window was covered with plywood.
Two breakfast bags sat untouched on the counter.
It looked like a crime scene pretending to be a home.
Marcus threw the bags away.
Then he sat at the island.
"I failed him."
I knew he meant Jayden.
"No."
"I did."
"We both missed things."
Marcus looked at me.
"When did he become this angry?"
I didn't know.
Maybe there wasn't one moment.
Maybe anger accumulated quietly.
Every disappointment.
Every comparison.
Every time he thought his younger sister received the softer version of us.
"After he dropped out of college," I said.
Marcus nodded.
"He changed."
"He was embarrassed."
"I thought giving him space would help."
"I thought helping more would help."
Marcus laughed bitterly.
"We managed to do opposite things and both got it wrong."
I sat beside him.
"We loved him."
"Love isn't always enough."
"No."
"But it's where we start."
The next morning, Evelyn called.
She wanted us to come over.
When we arrived, she had made coffee.
That was how Evelyn handled pain.
She cooked.
Even when nobody was hungry.
Jayden wasn't there.
Terrence was.
He had printed dozens of bank records and laid them across the dining table.
"Look at this."
He pointed to the transfers.
"The first few withdrawals go directly from Mom's account to the payment account Jayden shared with Kiara."
Marcus nodded.
"We know."
"But look here."
Three months later, the pattern changed.
Money started leaving Evelyn's account through smaller transfers.
Seven hundred.
Nine hundred.
Twelve hundred.
Always below amounts likely to trigger additional verification.
"Jayden says he stopped logging into Grandma's account four months ago," I said.
Terrence nodded.
"His phone records may prove that."
"So Kiara continued."
"Or Darius."
Evelyn stood silently near the window.
Terrence pointed again.
"Then something stranger happens."
The transfers suddenly reverse.
A few thousand returned.
Then vanished again.
"Why?"
"Money laundering," Marcus said.
Terrence nodded.
"Probably."
Evelyn whispered, "Through my account."
Nobody answered.
She turned toward us.
"They used me because I was old."
"Mom—"
"Don't tell me they didn't."
Her voice cracked.
"They looked at me and saw someone they thought wouldn't notice."
I stood and hugged her.
She remained stiff for a second.
Then she collapsed against me.
"I thought I was losing my mind, Denise."
"I know."
"What if I had never called you?"
"You did."
"What if I hadn't?"
"But you did."
She cried quietly against my shoulder.
Then her phone rang.
Unknown number.
All of us looked at it.
Terrence said, "Don't answer."
But Evelyn wiped her face.
"I'm tired of being afraid."
She answered.
"Hello?"
A man's voice came through.
"Mrs. Carter?"
Marcus stood.
"Who is this?"
The caller ignored him.
"Mrs. Carter, your grandson owes me money."
Evelyn's expression changed.
"Darius?"
Silence.
Then a soft laugh.
"Smart lady."
Marcus grabbed the phone.
"You come near my family again and—"
"Marcus."
Darius sounded almost amused.
"Still dramatic."
"You broke my mother's window."
"I didn't break anything."
"Stay away from us."
"I'd love to."
Then his voice hardened.
"But Jayden stole something that belongs to me."
Evelyn frowned.
"Money?"
"Not money."
Jayden had never mentioned anything else.
Marcus put the phone on speaker.
"What did he take?"
Darius chuckled.
"Ask him."
The call ended.
For several seconds nobody spoke.
Terrence looked at me.
"What else could Jayden have?"
"I don't know."
Marcus immediately called Renee.
She arranged for us to meet Jayden at the station.
When we arrived, he looked exhausted.
Marcus didn't waste time.
"Darius called Grandma."
Jayden went pale.
"What did he say?"
"He says you stole something."
Jayden stared at the table.
Renee looked at him.
"Jayden."
His hands began shaking.
"You need to tell us."
He swallowed.
"It's a drive."
"A hard drive?" I asked.
He nodded.
"What is on it?"
"I don't know everything."
"Where is it?"
He looked at me.
"I hid it."
"Where?"
Jayden hesitated.
May you like
Then he whispered the last place I expected.
"In Lily's room."
