Chapter 6
David leaned toward the phone.
"Raymond, explain what you mean."
There was a pause.
Then Raymond cleared his throat.
"Felicia told me Gloria wanted to invest in a retirement property."
I stared at the phone.
"I never said that."
Raymond sighed.
"I understand that now."
David's jaw tightened.
"Then why did you accept her money?"
"I thought she had authorization."
My hands began trembling.
David looked at me.
Then back at the phone.
"Did you verify it?"
Raymond hesitated.
"No."
Lorraine crossed her arms.
"That's convenient."
Raymond sounded defensive.
"Look, I'm calling because things have gotten out of control."
David leaned forward.
"What things?"
Another pause.
Then Raymond spoke quietly.
"Felicia wanted to move the rest of Gloria's retirement savings into Silver Oak."
My stomach turned.
"All of it?"
Raymond didn't answer immediately.
Then he said, "Most of it."
I covered my mouth.
My entire retirement.
Money Robert and I had saved carefully.
Money I'd earned through decades of working as a school secretary.
Money I needed for medical expenses, emergencies, and the years ahead.
Felicia had tried to take it.
David's voice became cold.
"Why?"
Raymond swallowed.
"She said it would help fund a property development."
Lorraine leaned closer.
"Whose property development?"
Raymond hesitated.
Then answered.
"Mine."
The room became silent.
David closed his eyes.
For a moment, he looked as though he might lose control.
Then he took a breath.
"Raymond, you need to speak to our attorney."
"I know."
"Everything you have. Every document. Every message."
Raymond sighed.
"Okay."
David ended the call after giving him Angela's contact information.
Then he sat back.
His face was pale.
I stared at the table.
For a long time, nobody spoke.
Finally, Lorraine reached for my hand.
"Gloria."
I looked at her.
"Are you okay?"
I shook my head.
"No."
My voice broke.
"I'm not okay."
And for once, I didn't apologize.
Lorraine moved beside me.
She wrapped her arms around my shoulders.
I leaned against her.
"I worked so hard for that money."
"I know."
"Robert worked hard too."
"I know, sweetheart."
I began crying.
"We weren't rich."
Lorraine held me tighter.
"We saved every little bit."
I closed my eyes.
I remembered clipping grocery coupons.
Working overtime.
Repairing old appliances instead of buying new ones.
Robert taking extra shifts at the postal service.
We had planned carefully.
We wanted enough to live comfortably.
Enough to avoid depending on our children.
Enough to feel safe.
And someone had almost taken it because she thought I was too old to protect myself.
David moved closer.
"Mom."
I looked up.
His eyes were full of tears.
"I promise we're going to do everything possible to protect what's yours."
I nodded.
But I was tired of promises.
I wanted action.
So I looked at my son and said something I'd never said before.
"Then help me learn how to protect it myself."
David became still.
Then he smiled through his tears.
"Absolutely."
The next morning, we met Angela again.
Raymond had already contacted her.
He'd agreed to provide documents and cooperate with the investigation.
Angela explained that his account would need to be verified.
She also warned us not to assume he was innocent simply because he was now talking.
I nodded.
That made sense.
For too long, I'd trusted people because they sounded convincing.
I wasn't going to make that mistake again.
Angela reviewed the financial documents.
She explained which transactions had been completed.
Which had been stopped.
And which required further investigation.
The twelve-thousand-dollar transfer was still under dispute.
The proposed forty-five-thousand-dollar transfer had been blocked.
And the cash rent payments would be addressed separately.
I listened carefully.
Then I asked questions.
Lots of questions.
Angela answered each one patiently.
By the end of the meeting, I felt exhausted.
But I also felt stronger.
For the first time, I understood what was happening to my own money.
David noticed.
When we walked outside, he smiled.
"Mom, you were asking better questions than I was."
I laughed softly.
"Well, somebody has to."
He grinned.
For a moment, things felt normal.
Then his phone rang.
Felicia.
He stared at the screen.
I could see the struggle in his eyes.
Finally, he answered.
"Hello."
Her voice was sharp.
"David, we need to stop this nonsense."
He sighed.
"Felicia, our attorneys are handling it."
She laughed bitterly.
"Your mother has turned everyone against me."
I felt my chest tighten.
David looked at me.
Then said something I'd never heard him say before.
"Stop blaming my mother for your choices."
There was silence.
Then Felicia spoke in a low voice.
"You're going to regret this."
David's expression hardened.
"I'm not discussing threats."
He ended the call.
I looked at him.
"Are you okay?"
He nodded slowly.
"I will be."
But I knew he was hurting.
He'd built a life with Felicia.
He'd trusted her.
He'd imagined growing old beside her.
Now he was discovering that the woman he loved had used his own mother to fund someone else's business.
That kind of betrayal doesn't disappear overnight.
That evening, David sat alone on the back porch.
I watched him through the kitchen window.
He held his wedding ring in one hand.
His shoulders were slumped.
For a moment, I considered leaving him alone.
Then I made two cups of tea.
I carried them outside.
"Mind if I sit?"
He looked up.
"Of course not, Mom."
I sat beside him.
For a while, we watched the sunset.
Then he whispered, "How did I miss it?"
I looked at him.
"What?"
"Who she really was."
I took a sip of tea.
"Sometimes people show us the version of themselves they want us to believe."
He nodded.
"I thought we were happy."
My heart ached.
"Maybe parts of it were real."
He looked at me.
"Do you think she ever loved me?"
I hesitated.
"I don't know, sweetheart."
His eyes filled.
I reached for his hand.
"But I know love shouldn't require you to ignore cruelty."
He nodded.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
I squeezed his fingers.
For a long time, we sat quietly.
Then he whispered, "I'm filing for divorce."
I closed my eyes.
I wasn't happy.
I wasn't celebrating.
My son was losing the marriage he'd believed in.
But I also knew he'd finally chosen honesty over denial.
I leaned against his shoulder.
"I'll be here."
He turned and hugged me.
"I know, Mom."
The next morning, Angela called with an update.
The bank had recovered additional information about the disputed transfer.
And investigators had identified another account connected to Silver Oak.
David listened carefully.
Then his expression changed.
"What?"
He turned toward me.
His face went pale.
"Mom..."
I stared at him.
"What happened?"
He swallowed.
"They found where part of the money went."
I gripped the table.
"Where?"
David looked at the phone.
Then whispered, "Into a down payment on a house."
I stared.
"Whose house?"
He closed his eyes.
"Felicia's."
May you like
And suddenly, I understood.
While she was charging me rent for a bedroom in my son's home, she had been using my savings to build a home of her own.
