Chapter 2
"What money, Tasha?"
Dad's voice was quiet.
That frightened me more than shouting.
My little sister stood beside the kitchen island, twisting the sleeve of her pink hoodie.
She had lost every trace of her earlier smile.
Mom turned toward her.
"Go upstairs."
Tasha shook her head.
"Tasha," Mom repeated.
"No."
I stared at my sister.
She had never spoken to Mom like that.
Not once.
Dad placed the travel papers on the counter.
"Nobody is going anywhere until I understand what's happening."
Mom took a shaky breath.
"Marcus, you're making this much bigger than it is."
He looked at her.
"Then explain why our daughter's name appears on temporary guardianship paperwork."
I felt sick.
Temporary guardianship.
The words sounded official.
Serious.
Like something adults decided when a child didn't have parents who could care for her.
But I had two parents.
They were standing right in front of me.
"Am I being sent away?" I whispered.
Dad immediately turned toward me.
"No, sweetheart."
He sounded certain.
But his eyes were still fixed on the document.
Mom rubbed her forehead.
"It was just an option."
"What option?" Dad demanded.
She hesitated.
"A summer placement."
I stared at her.
"A what?"
Mom looked toward the window.
"My cousin Lorraine offered to let Maya stay with her while we traveled."
I had met Aunt Lorraine exactly twice.
She lived almost four hours away in a small town outside Savannah.
She had never invited me to stay with her.
We barely knew each other.
"Why would I stay with her?" I asked.
Mom avoided my eyes.
"Because you need structure."
I felt tears rising.
"Structure?"
"You've been difficult lately."
I stared at her.
I made honor roll.
I cleaned my room.
I helped Tasha with homework.
I babysat our neighbor's daughter when her mother worked late.
I didn't understand what I had done that was so terrible.
Dad unfolded another page.
"Denise, this says Lorraine would receive eighteen thousand dollars."
My mouth fell open.
Eighteen thousand dollars?
Mom stepped forward.
"That's not what you think."
Dad looked at her.
"Then tell me what it is."
"It's for Maya's care."
"For one summer?"
Mom said nothing.
Dad continued reading.
His expression darkened.
"This arrangement begins June third and runs until the following May."
I stared at him.
The following May.
Nearly an entire year.
"But summer vacation is only two weeks," I whispered.
Dad looked at Mom.
She lowered her eyes.
I felt the floor shift beneath me.
"You were going to send me away for a year?"
Mom finally spoke.
"I thought some distance would be good for everyone."
Something inside me broke.
I took a step backward.
"Everyone?"
She looked annoyed again.
"Maya, please don't be dramatic."
I laughed.
It sounded strange.
Almost like a sob.
"You were going to send me away without telling me, and I'm being dramatic?"
Dad slammed the document onto the counter.
"Enough!"
Mom jumped.
I had rarely heard him raise his voice.
He pointed toward the paperwork.
"Who prepared this?"
Mom looked away.
"Denise."
"Who?"
"My attorney."
Dad stared at her.
"You hired an attorney to arrange for our daughter to live somewhere else?"
"It wasn't that simple."
"Then make it simple!"
Tasha began crying.
I looked at her.
"Tasha, what money were you talking about?"
She wiped her cheeks.
Mom shook her head.
"Don't involve your sister."
Tasha looked at me.
"I'm sorry, Maya."
My heart tightened.
"For what?"
She reached into her hoodie pocket.
Then pulled out her phone.
"I heard Mom talking to Aunt Lorraine."
Mom rushed toward her.
"Tasha!"
Dad stepped between them.
"Let her speak."
Tasha opened a recording.
Mom's voice filled the kitchen.
"The paperwork needs to be signed before Marcus finds out."
A second voice answered.
I recognized Aunt Lorraine.
"And the payment?"
Mom spoke again.
"You'll get the eighteen thousand once the arrangement is finalized."
Lorraine laughed.
"That's a lot of trouble for a teenager."
Mom answered.
"It's worth it. Once Maya is out of the house, we can finally deal with the trust."
I stopped breathing.
The trust?
I looked at Dad.
He looked equally confused.
Tasha paused the recording.
Mom covered her face.
I whispered, "What trust?"
Nobody answered.
I thought about my grandmother.
Dad's mother, Evelyn Carter, had died three years earlier.
She had been my favorite person.
She taught me how to bake peach cobbler.
She took me to the library every Saturday.
She always said I was stronger than I realized.
Before she died, she told me she had left something for my future.
Dad said it was money for college.
I never knew how much.
I looked at him.
"Grandma's money?"
He swallowed.
"Maya, your grandmother created a trust for you."
"How much?"
Dad hesitated.
"Two hundred thousand dollars."
I stared at him.
I couldn't understand.
Two hundred thousand dollars?
For me?
Mom stepped toward him.
"Marcus, that money is supposed to benefit the family."
Dad turned sharply.
"No. It's supposed to benefit Maya."
Mom's face hardened.
"She's sixteen. She doesn't need that kind of money."
I looked between them.
"Where is it?"
Dad opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
He looked at Mom.
"Denise, where are the trust statements?"
Mom said nothing.
His expression changed.
"Denise."
She looked toward the door.
I felt panic rising.
Dad pulled out his phone.
He called someone.
"Mr. Bennett? This is Marcus Carter."
He paused.
"I need an updated statement for Maya's trust."
I listened.
Dad frowned.
"What do you mean you sent one last month?"
Another pause.
Then his face went completely still.
"Who requested the withdrawal?"
Mom closed her eyes.
Dad looked at her.
"Denise?"
I grabbed the counter.
Withdrawal?
From Grandma's trust?
Dad's voice became dangerously calm.
"How much was transferred?"
He listened.
Then slowly lowered himself onto a stool.
I had never seen my father look so defeated.
"Dad?" I whispered.
He stared at the wall.
Finally, he said, "One hundred and forty thousand dollars."
My knees felt weak.
Mom began crying.
"Marcus, I was going to put it back."
Dad looked at her.
"With what money?"
She shook her head.
"You don't understand the pressure I've been under."
I stared at my mother.
The Hawaii trip.
The guardianship papers.
The money.
It was all connected.
But I still didn't understand why.
Then Tasha spoke again.
"Mom didn't spend all of it."
Dad looked at her.
"What?"
Tasha swallowed.
"She gave some to Uncle Raymond."
Mom's face changed.
Raymond.
Mom's older brother.
A man Dad had never trusted.
I remembered him visiting our house three weeks earlier.
He and Mom spent hours talking in the study.
When I walked in, they stopped.
Dad looked at Mom.
"Raymond has Maya's money?"
She didn't answer.
Dad stood.
"I'm calling him."
Mom suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Don't."
He looked down at her hand.
"Why?"
She whispered something I barely heard.
"Because he won't give it back."
I felt cold.
Dad stared at her.
"What did Raymond do?"
Mom began shaking.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
"He used Maya's trust as collateral."
Dad went pale.
"Collateral for what?"
Mom started crying harder.
"For a business loan."
I gripped the counter.
Grandma's money.
My future.
Everything she had wanted to give me.
May you like
Mom looked at Dad.
"And Marcus, if Raymond doesn't repay it by Friday, they're going to take the house too."
