Chapter 5
Rachel met us at her front door.
“I told her Lily was inside,” she said. “I asked her to leave. She’s still there.”
Diane sat behind the wheel at the curb. When she saw me, she got out.
“Emma, please.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Mom, go home.”
“I’m not here to fight with you.”
“Then why are you at Rachel’s house after she asked you to leave?”
Diane looked past him.
“I need Emma to hear me.”
Lily stood just inside the doorway. I could see her through the glass, clutching Rachel’s hand.
I would not have this conversation in front of her.
“Get back in your car,” I told Diane. “I’ll speak to you on the phone later, with Priya present.”
Diane’s face tightened.
“You’ve brought a lawyer into this?”
“Yes.”
“Owen made a mistake. That doesn’t mean you need to destroy him.”
“What mistake?”
She said nothing.
“How much money did he use?”
“He intended to replace it.”
Daniel went very still.
“You knew,” he said.
“I found out after the first withdrawals. He said his business had a temporary cash problem.”
“And you didn’t tell us?”
“I was trying to keep the family together.”
I heard movement behind the door. Lily was still watching.
“You saw Daniel selling his car,” I said. “You knew why he sold it.”
Tears filled Diane’s eyes.
“Owen promised me he’d put it back before anyone needed it.”
“I needed it then.”
She reached toward me.
I stepped away.
Diane lowered her hand.
“I love you, Emma.”
“I believe you do. But you chose to protect a lie while I was sick.”
Her tears spilled over.
“I didn’t know how to undo it.”
“You could have told us.”
She looked at Daniel.
“I was afraid you’d never forgive me.”
He answered quietly.
“You should have been more afraid of what was happening to Emma.”
Diane returned to her car.
I went inside before she drove away.
Lily hurried to me.
“Is Grandma mad?”
“She’s upset about something she did,” I said.
“Did I do anything?”
“No. None of this is your fault.”
She held me tightly.
After dinner, I went upstairs to rest. Lily followed and climbed onto the bed beside me with a book.
Halfway through reading, I lost my place. My head had begun to ache, and the words blurred.
Daniel took the book.
“You’re due for a rest,” he said.
“I’m fine.”
“You can rest without defending it.”
I wanted to argue. Instead, I lay back and listened while he finished the story.
By the next afternoon, Priya had spoken to Diane’s attorney. Diane agreed to provide her messages with Owen and the checks she had received.
“She wants to cooperate,” Priya told us.
“Does Owen?” I asked.
“Not yet.”
Owen sent Daniel a text that evening.
I supported you when you lost your job years ago. You’re going to put me in prison over money I borrowed?
Daniel read it and set the phone down.
“I didn’t borrow anything from him when I lost that job,” he said. “He let me sleep on his couch for two weeks.”
“You’re allowed to be grateful for that without accepting this.”
“He keeps saying I’m turning my back on family.”
“He took money meant for your wife’s care.”
Daniel looked at me.
“I know. I’m just trying to understand how we got here.”
I had asked myself the same question about Diane.
The next morning brought a new problem.
The pharmacy called. My next month’s medicine was ready, but the insurance appeal had not been resolved. The amount due was higher than we expected.
Daniel reached for his keys.
“I can pick up another shift.”
“No,” I said.
“Emma, you need it.”
“I do. We’re going to call Ms. Alvarez and ask what assistance is available. Then we’ll speak to the pharmacy. We make the calls together.”
He looked at me for a long moment.
“All right.”
We spent the morning on the phone. Ms. Alvarez connected us with a patient navigator. The navigator helped us submit an urgent review and pointed us toward a temporary medication assistance program for which I might qualify.
Nothing was guaranteed. But we had people helping us look.
That afternoon, the investigator called Priya with an update.
Owen had withdrawn a large sum from his business account that morning.
The platform had frozen its remaining funds. His business account was outside its control.
Priya asked us to come in.
May you like
When we arrived, she showed us a copy of a notice Owen had sent to several donors.
He claimed the fundraiser had been closed because Daniel and I no longer needed help.
