Chapter 4
Dad didn't get angry when he saw me.
He simply held out his hand.
"Come here, sweetheart."
I walked downstairs in my pajamas.
Grandma was asleep.
The kitchen light made Dad look older than he had that morning.
"Is something wrong?"
He pulled out a chair.
"Something is wrong, but it's not your fault."
I sat across from him.
"Is it about the money Vanessa said I stole?"
"Maybe."
He rubbed his forehead.
"I need to understand a few things."
I nodded.
"Do you remember the blue envelope I kept in my bedroom?"
I knew exactly which envelope he meant.
It had little silver stars on it.
My mother had decorated it before she died.
Dad kept it in a locked drawer along with important papers.
Inside were letters my mother had written for birthdays she knew she might not see.
"I remember."
"Have you seen it recently?"
My heart began beating faster.
"Vanessa took it."
Dad sat very still.
"When?"
"A few months ago."
"Why?"
"She said the drawer needed cleaning."
His expression changed.
"Did you see where she put it?"
I nodded.
"In your closet."
Dad closed his eyes.
"Was anything else moved?"
"Mommy's jewelry box. Some pictures. The folder with my name on it."
He opened his eyes.
"What folder?"
"The green one."
Dad slowly pushed his chair backward.
I had never seen someone become so pale.
"Maya, are you sure?"
I nodded.
"She said it was grown-up paperwork."
Dad stood.
He walked to the kitchen window.
For several seconds, he didn't speak.
Then he returned.
"I need to explain something."
I straightened.
"When your mother was sick, she made sure you would be taken care of if anything happened to her."
I remembered Mom being sick.
I remembered the hospital.
But nobody had explained much about money.
"She loved you more than anything," Dad continued. "She left some savings for your future."
"Like college?"
"Exactly."
I looked down.
"Did Vanessa take it?"
Dad paused.
"I don't know yet."
But his eyes told me he was afraid she had.
The next morning, Dad made several phone calls.
I sat at Grandma's table coloring while he spoke to a woman named Ms. Brooks.
His voice stayed calm.
But he kept asking for documents.
Grandma placed pancakes in front of me.
"Eat, baby."
I tried.
Everything tasted strange.
Around ten, Dad's phone rang again.
He answered immediately.
"Yes, Angela."
He listened.
Then he sat down.
"You're certain?"
I looked up.
"Those transfers weren't authorized by me."
A long silence followed.
Then Dad said, "I'm coming to your office."
Grandma walked over.
"What is it?"
Dad lowered the phone.
"Mom, Vanessa has been moving money from Maya's education account."
Grandma gripped the counter.
"How much?"
Dad swallowed.
"Forty-eight thousand dollars."
My fork slipped from my hand.
The sound made everyone look at me.
Forty-eight thousand.
I knew that was a lot.
More than the money in my birthday piggy bank.
More than anything I could imagine.
"Was that Mommy's money?"
Dad turned.
"Some of it."
I felt sick.
"Why would Vanessa take it?"
He looked at me with such sadness that I wished I hadn't asked.
"I don't know, sweetheart."
Grandma pulled out the chair beside me.
"Your father is going to find out."
I stared at my pancakes.
"But she said I stole three hundred dollars."
Dad's face hardened.
"I know."
He made another call.
This time, he spoke to a lawyer.
By lunchtime, we were driving downtown.
Grandma came with us.
Dad didn't want me involved in the meeting, but I refused to stay behind.
I was scared Vanessa would somehow convince everyone the money was mine to repay.
At the office, a woman with silver-framed glasses greeted us.
"Marcus, I'm Angela Brooks."
She smiled gently at me.
"And you must be Maya."
I nodded.
She led us into a conference room.
There were papers spread across the table.
Dad sat beside me.
Angela opened a folder.
"Marcus, we need to separate what we know from what we suspect."
Dad nodded.
She explained that my mother had created an education fund.
Dad managed it for me.
The account had rules about how money could be used.
Vanessa wasn't supposed to control it.
"But someone accessed the account," Angela said.
Dad leaned forward.
"How?"
"That is what we're investigating."
She showed him several statements.
I saw dates.
Numbers.
A name I recognized.
Vanessa Carter.
Dad's fingers tightened around the paper.
Angela continued.
"Several transfers went to an account associated with your wife."
Dad stared.
"And the signatures?"
"We're requesting verification. Some documents may have been altered."
I didn't understand all the words.
But I understood Dad's expression.
Vanessa had been keeping a secret.
A terrible one.
Angela looked at me.
"Maya, I understand you saw some papers moved."
I nodded.
"Can you remember anything else?"
I thought carefully.
Then I remembered something.
A night two weeks earlier.
Vanessa had been on the phone in the kitchen.
I had come downstairs for water.
She hadn't seen me.
"She was talking to somebody," I said.
Dad looked at me.
"What did she say?"
I swallowed.
"She said, 'He'll never check the account as long as the girl keeps quiet.'"
The room became silent.
Angela put down her pen.
Dad looked like he couldn't breathe.
"Are you sure those were her words?"
I nodded.
"She got mad when she saw me. She told me to go upstairs."
Angela exchanged a glance with Dad.
Then she asked, "Did she mention a name?"
I shook my head.
But another memory surfaced.
"She said something about a place called Willow Creek."
Dad frowned.
"Willow Creek?"
Angela immediately looked through her papers.
Then she stopped on one page.
Her expression changed.
"Marcus."
He leaned toward her.
"There's a payment here."
She turned the document around.
"Willow Creek Property Holdings."
Dad stared at the name.
Then he whispered, "Vanessa told me Willow Creek was her sister's business."
Angela looked directly at him.
"According to the records we have, your wife is the registered owner."
And suddenly I understood.
May you like
Vanessa hadn't just been trying to push me out of Dad's life.
She had been hiding something much bigger.
