Chapter 2
Graduation should have felt like the happiest day of my life.
For part of it, it did.
I walked across the stage wearing my mother’s dress under my gown.
When my name was called, my father stood so fast he nearly knocked over the chair in front of him.
“That’s my girl!”
People laughed.
I laughed too.
For the first time that morning, I forgot Mia.
I forgot Vanessa.
I forgot the pieces of my ruined dress still sitting on my bed.
I only saw Dad.
And beside him, an empty chair where Mom should have been.
That hurt.
But it did not break me.
After the ceremony, Dad wrapped me in a hug.
“I’m proud of you.”
“Even though I almost cried during the dean’s speech?”
“Especially because you survived that speech.”
I laughed.
Then I looked around.
“No Vanessa?”
Dad’s expression changed.
“No.”
“Mia?”
“No.”
I tried not to feel guilty.
Dad noticed.
“Don’t.”
“What?”
“Whatever you’re blaming yourself for.”
“I’m not.”
“You make the exact same face your mother made whenever she blamed herself.”
I looked down.
“Where did they go?”
“Vanessa’s sister has a guest room.”
“You really made them leave?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
Dad hesitated.
“I don’t know.”
That answer scared me.
Despite everything, Vanessa had been his wife for six years.
Mia had lived with us almost as long.
Families did not simply disappear because of one terrible morning.
I knew something bigger was happening.
At dinner, Dad finally confirmed it.
We went to a small restaurant near campus.
Just the two of us.
Halfway through our meal, he put his fork down.
“I need to tell you something.”
My stomach tightened.
“That sounds serious.”
“It is.”
He rubbed one hand over his face.
“Vanessa and I have had problems for a long time.”
“I know.”
His eyes widened.
“You know?”
“I live there.”
He almost smiled.
Then it disappeared.
“I thought I hid it better.”
“You did not.”
Dad leaned back.
“Most of our arguments were about you and Mia.”
That did not surprise me.
“What about us?”
“Vanessa believed I favored you.”
I stared at him.
“You’re my father.”
“I know.”
“She expected you to treat Mia exactly the same?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not wrong.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“It isn’t wrong to love a stepchild. The problem was that Vanessa wanted everything measured.”
I understood immediately.
If Dad paid for my SAT course, Mia needed an equal amount of money.
If he attended my debate tournament, he had to cancel something else for Mia.
If I received a birthday gift, Vanessa checked the price.
“It was exhausting.”
Dad looked ashamed.
“And instead of stopping it, I kept giving in.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted the marriage to work.”
There it was.
The sentence that explained six years.
I pushed food around my plate.
“Mia knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That if she complained, Vanessa would make you feel guilty.”
Dad went still.
“I think you’re right.”
I looked at him.
“There’s more, isn’t there?”
He nodded.
“After they left this morning, I went into the home office.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to understand our finances before I spoke to a lawyer.”
My stomach tightened.
“A lawyer?”
“Divorce lawyer.”
I had expected the word.
Still, hearing it hurt.
“Dad…”
“I’m not making the decision because of today alone.”
“I know.”
He reached across the table.
“You are not responsible for my marriage ending.”
I nodded, even though I did not fully believe it yet.
“What did you find?”
His face hardened.
“Money missing.”
My heart jumped.
“What?”
“Not from my company.”
He lowered his voice.
“From the college account I created for you.”
I stared at him.
“My Howard money?”
“Some of it.”
My chest went cold.
“How much?”
“Twenty-two thousand dollars.”
I nearly dropped my glass.
“What?”
“I had enough in that account to cover most of your first year.”
“Who took it?”
Dad looked at me.
“The transfer went into an account in Vanessa’s name.”
I stopped breathing.
“She stole my college money?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Dad.”
“I’m going to find out.”
I pushed my chair back slightly.
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“No.”
He frowned.
“What?”
“Now.”
“Aaliyah.”
“She has twenty-two thousand dollars from my college fund.”
“I understand.”
“Then call her.”
Dad hesitated.
Then pulled out his phone.
Vanessa answered on the third ring.
“What do you want?”
Dad put the phone on speaker.
“I found the transfer.”
Silence.
Then Vanessa said, “What transfer?”
“The twenty-two thousand dollars from Aaliyah’s education account.”
Another pause.
“I can explain.”
My stomach twisted.
Dad’s voice became cold.
“Then explain.”
“I moved it temporarily.”
“To your private account?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Mia needed money.”
I stared at the phone.
“For what?” Dad asked.
Vanessa sighed.
“Her modeling program.”
Dad closed his eyes.
“What modeling program?”
“The summer program in Los Angeles.”
“That costs twenty-two thousand dollars?”
“It includes housing.”
Dad’s hand tightened around the phone.
“You took money from my daughter’s college fund to pay for Mia’s summer modeling program.”
“I was going to replace it.”
“With what?”
“When my bonus came.”
“You don’t receive bonuses.”
Silence.
My chest tightened.
She had lied without even thinking.
Dad knew it too.
Then Vanessa said something worse.
“Aaliyah has scholarships.”
I felt like I had been slapped.
Dad stared at the phone.
“What did you say?”
“She has scholarships. Howard isn’t going to leave her homeless.”
“So that makes stealing from her acceptable?”
“I didn’t steal.”
“You transferred money without permission.”
“I’m your wife.”
“That account is not marital spending money.”
Vanessa’s voice sharpened.
“Oh, stop pretending this is about money. You’ve always cared more about Aaliyah.”
Dad looked at me.
I watched anger spread across his face.
“She is my daughter.”
“And Mia has spent six years trying to be yours.”
“By destroying Aaliyah’s things?”
“She was frustrated!”
I could not stay silent.
“Was she frustrated when you took my money too?”
Vanessa went quiet.
Then she said, “Aaliyah, stay out of adult business.”
I laughed.
“You stole from my college fund.”
“I borrowed.”
“Did Mia know?”
Silence.
My pulse jumped.
“Vanessa.”
Dad’s voice became dangerous.
“Did Mia know where the money came from?”
“No.”
I almost believed her.
Then a voice appeared in the background.
Mia.
“Mom, who are you talking to?”
Vanessa whispered something.
Mia said louder, “If it’s David, tell him he better not cancel L.A.”
My stomach dropped.
Dad’s face changed.
“Mia.”
The line went silent.
Then she said, “What?”
Dad asked quietly, “Did you know your program was being paid for with Aaliyah’s college money?”
“No.”
Too quick.
“Mia.”
“I thought it was family money.”
“Did your mother tell you where it came from?”
“No!”
Then Vanessa said, “We’re done with this conversation.”
Dad’s voice hardened.
“No, we’re just beginning.”
He ended the call.
I sat frozen.
My graduation certificate was beside me.
My mother’s dress was beneath my coat.
And suddenly the destroyed dress felt like the smallest betrayal of the day.
Dad looked at me.
“I will replace every dollar.”
“You shouldn’t have to.”
“I should have protected the account better.”
“You trusted your wife.”
He laughed bitterly.
“Yes.”
Then his phone buzzed.
A text.
He looked at it.
His face changed.
“What?”
He turned the screen toward me.
It was from Mia.
One sentence.
You want the truth? Ask Mom why she really married you.
I read it twice.
Dad stared at me.
“What does that mean?”
I swallowed.
“I don’t know.”
Then another message arrived.
This time from Vanessa.
Do not listen to Mia. She’s angry.
May you like
Dad’s expression went still.
And that was when both of us realized Mia had just opened a door Vanessa was terrified for us to walk through.
