Chapter 4
I showed Dad the photograph when he came back inside.
He stared at it for a long time.
Then he sat down.
“Where did she get that?”
“I don’t know.”
Marcus leaned closer.
“Was your late wife’s insurance private?”
Dad nodded slowly.
“Only family knew the amount.”
“Who handled the estate?”
“My accountant and attorney.”
“Was Vanessa connected to either?”
“No.”
I looked at Dad.
“Could she have found it online?”
“No.”
My stomach twisted.
Mom’s life insurance had helped pay off our old mortgage and create my college fund.
Dad rarely spoke about the money because he hated what it represented.
He once told me he would give back every dollar to have Mom alive for five minutes.
The idea of Vanessa tracking it made me sick.
Marcus stood.
“Do not confront her yet.”
Dad looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because we need to know how she got private financial information.”
He turned toward me.
“Can Mia access those documents?”
“I don’t know.”
My phone buzzed again.
Almost like she heard him.
Mia wrote:
I can send pictures. Mom left everything here because she thinks nobody knows.
Marcus said, “Tell her not to remove anything.”
I typed carefully.
Can you photograph everything without taking it?
Three dots appeared.
Yes.
Dad rubbed his face.
“I don’t want to use a seventeen-year-old against her mother.”
Marcus nodded.
“Neither do I.”
I looked at Dad.
“But Mia came to us.”
He looked torn.
“She’s still a kid.”
“She destroyed my dress yesterday.”
“And today she’s telling the truth.”
That silenced him.
We waited.
Over the next twenty minutes, Mia sent twelve photographs.
Bank statements.
Copies of Dad’s old tax filings.
Property records.
Insurance documents.
My college account balance.
Even an old appraisal for the necklace my mother left me.
My stomach turned when I saw that.
“Why does she have this?”
Dad looked devastated.
“I don’t know.”
Marcus zoomed in.
“She organized everything by value.”
There were handwritten notes in Vanessa’s handwriting.
House equity.
Retirement.
Business ownership.
Insurance.
College savings.
Jewelry.
It looked less like a spouse understanding family finances and more like an inventory.
Then I saw a date.
One page had been printed seven months before Dad married Vanessa.
“Dad.”
He saw it too.
His face drained of color.
“She had this before the wedding.”
Marcus leaned back.
“Then this changes things.”
Dad stared at the table.
“She knew everything.”
I remembered Vanessa always saying their meeting had been fate.
They met at a charity fundraiser.
Dad had donated to an education foundation.
Vanessa volunteered at the event.
She joked that she spilled champagne on him.
He always told the story like it was romantic.
Now I wondered whether she had known exactly who he was.
My phone buzzed.
Mia again.
There’s a notebook too.
I asked:
What notebook?
Her response came immediately.
Mom’s.
Then:
I think it’s about David.
Dad read over my shoulder.
“Ask for pictures.”
I did.
Mia sent the first page.
My chest tightened.
DAVID CARTER.
Widower.
One daughter.
Owns Carter Engineering.
Home value approximately $620k.
Possible insurance settlement after wife’s death.
Dad made a broken sound.
Marcus swore under his breath.
I stared.
The next page was worse.
Daughter: Aaliyah, age 12.
Close relationship with father.
Potential obstacle.
I stopped breathing.
“Obstacle?”
Dad whispered it.
His face changed in a way I had never seen.
He looked crushed.
Then furious.
Page after page documented his habits.
Where he went to church.
Which charity events he attended.
His favorite restaurant.
His hobbies.
His business.
It was dated before they met.
Vanessa had researched him.
Targeted him.
The romantic accident at the fundraiser had never been accidental.
Dad stood.
“I’m going there.”
Marcus blocked him.
“No.”
“She hunted me.”
“I know.”
“She called my daughter an obstacle.”
“I know.”
“Move.”
“No.”
Marcus’s voice sharpened.
“You go there angry, she changes the story.”
Dad stared at him.
“She already spent six years changing the story.”
“That’s why we do this correctly.”
I watched Dad struggle.
Then he sat again.
I reached for his hand.
He squeezed mine.
“I’m sorry.”
I frowned.
“For what?”
“For bringing her into your life.”
“Dad.”
“I thought I was giving you another family.”
“You were lonely.”
“I should have been smarter.”
“You loved someone.”
His eyes filled.
“I loved the person she pretended to be.”
That sentence broke my heart.
Then Mia called me.
Not text.
Called.
I answered.
“Aaliyah?”
She sounded terrified.
“What happened?”
“Mom knows.”
My stomach tightened.
“Knows what?”
“That I sent you pictures.”
Behind her, I heard Vanessa shouting.
“Mia!”
Then the line moved.
“Where are you?”
“Bathroom.”
A door shook.
“Mia, open this door!”
I looked at Dad.
He stood immediately.
“Mia.”
Dad took the phone.
“Listen to me. Is your aunt there?”
“No.”
“Where is she?”
“Work.”
“Can you leave safely?”
“I don’t know.”
Vanessa banged on the door again.
“You little traitor!”
Mia began crying.
Dad’s face hardened.
“Mia, climb out the window if you can do it safely.”
“We’re on the second floor.”
“Don’t.”
He grabbed his keys.
Marcus said, “Call police.”
Dad did.
Within minutes, officers were sent to Vanessa’s sister’s house.
We drove behind them.
By the time we arrived, Mia was standing outside with a female officer.
Her face was wet with tears.
Vanessa stood on the porch screaming.
“You have no right to take my daughter!”
Mia saw Dad.
She ran toward him.
That shocked me.
Dad caught her automatically.
She collapsed against him.
“I’m sorry.”
He held her.
“You’re okay.”
Vanessa stared at them.
Then she saw me.
Her face changed.
“You.”
I stayed behind Marcus.
“You’ve poisoned everyone against me.”
I almost laughed.
“You called me an obstacle before you even met my father.”
Her face went white.
That was confirmation.
Dad released Mia and turned toward Vanessa.
“Did you target me for money?”
She started crying.
“David, no.”
“Did you research me before the fundraiser?”
“I research everyone.”
“Did you plan to meet me?”
Silence.
“Mia found the notebook.”
Vanessa looked at her daughter with pure fury.
“You went through my private things?”
Mia stepped backward.
Dad moved between them.
“Do not speak to her like that.”
“She betrayed me!”
“She told the truth.”
Vanessa stared at him.
“You’re choosing them.”
Dad’s expression became almost peaceful.
“No.”
He shook his head.
“I’m finally choosing reality.”
Then a police officer walked over.
“Mr. Carter?”
Dad turned.
“We need to speak with you about a report Ms. Carter just made.”
Vanessa smiled faintly.
My stomach dropped.
“What report?” Dad asked.
The officer hesitated.
“She says you destroyed property worth approximately three thousand dollars and threatened her daughter.”
Mia’s eyes widened.
“That’s a lie!”
Vanessa crossed her arms.
Dad looked at her.
“You’re reporting me for the bag?”
“You cut it.”
“Yes.”
“So now you can explain that to police.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“My client will cooperate.”
Dad nodded.
For the first time, Vanessa looked satisfied.
She thought she had regained control.
Then Mia spoke.
“Officer?”
Everyone turned.
“I want to make a report too.”
Vanessa’s smile disappeared.
Mia’s voice shook, but she kept going.
“About my mom taking money that wasn’t hers.”
Vanessa stared at her daughter.
“Mia.”
“And about what she did to Aaliyah.”
My pulse jumped.
I looked at her.
“What did she do to me?”
Mia began crying again.
Then she said something I had never expected.
“She’s been taking your mom’s jewelry.”
My hand flew to my neck.
“What?”
Mia looked at me.
“Not all at once.”
Her voice broke.
“Piece by piece.”
I stopped breathing.
“My mother’s jewelry is in Dad’s safe.”
Mia shook her head.
“No.”
Dad went pale.
“When did you see it?”
“She sold some.”
The world tilted.
Dad whispered, “What?”
Mia wiped her face.
“I heard her tell someone on the phone.”
Vanessa screamed, “She’s lying!”
Mia flinched.
Then looked at me.
“There’s a pawn receipt in her notebook.”
My hands started shaking.
My mother had left me only a few pieces.
A necklace.
A bracelet.
Her wedding earrings.
Small things.
Irreplaceable things.
Dad looked toward Vanessa.
Any softness left in his face disappeared.
“Police need to come to my house.”
Vanessa went still.
“Why?”
May you like
Dad stared at her.
“Because now I want to know exactly what else you stole from my daughter.”
