Chapter 5
Dad didn't speak for almost a minute.
He sat in Angela's office staring at the paper.
Then he asked one question.
"How long?"
Angela looked at the records.
"The company was formed about seven months ago."
Dad leaned back.
Seven months.
That was around the time Vanessa had started getting angrier whenever I talked about Mom.
Angela continued.
"She may have used the company to receive money from the education account. We still need to confirm how the transfers were authorized."
Dad rubbed his hands over his face.
"She told me her sister needed help starting a business."
"Did you give her money?"
"Some."
"How much?"
"Ten thousand from my personal savings."
Grandma inhaled sharply.
Dad looked ashamed.
"She said she'd pay it back."
Angela wrote something down.
"Keep every message about that payment."
I sat very still.
The grown-ups were talking about numbers.
But I kept thinking about something smaller.
My birthday.
Three months earlier, Vanessa had told Dad that my mother's savings were almost gone.
She said expensive gifts weren't possible anymore.
I hadn't cared about gifts.
I only wanted the silver heart necklace Mom had left me.
Vanessa said she'd misplaced it.
I looked at Dad.
"Can I say something?"
He turned immediately.
"Always."
"Vanessa said Mommy's necklace was lost."
His face softened.
"I remember."
"She told me not to ask again because it made you sad."
Grandma closed her eyes.
Dad reached for my hand.
"That necklace wasn't supposed to disappear."
Angela asked gently, "Do you know where your mother kept it?"
"In a little jewelry box."
"Was that the box Vanessa moved?"
I nodded.
Dad looked toward Angela.
"We need to find it."
She made another note.
Then she explained what would happen next.
Dad would secure the accounts.
He would request the original documents.
He would speak with a family-law attorney about protecting me.
And any suspected financial wrongdoing would be reported through the proper channels.
Dad nodded at every step.
But when Angela mentioned going back to the house, I felt sick.
I grabbed his arm.
"Please don't make me go there."
He turned immediately.
"You don't have to."
"What if Vanessa is there?"
"Then I won't take you inside."
Angela looked at Dad.
"Use a supervised arrangement if you need to collect belongings."
He agreed.
That afternoon, Dad called his friend Officer Daniel Price.
Daniel had known Dad since college.
He was a police officer, but he was off duty when he answered.
Dad explained the situation.
Daniel listened and advised him to contact the department through the proper process for any official report.
He also suggested bringing a neutral witness if Dad needed to retrieve personal property.
Grandma offered to come.
Dad refused.
"Mom, stay with Maya."
I felt relieved.
Until my phone buzzed.
It was my old tablet.
Dad had brought it from the house the previous night.
A message appeared from Vanessa.
"Maya, sweetheart. I'm so sorry about yesterday. Can we talk privately?"
I stared at the words.
Dad noticed.
"Who is it?"
I showed him.
His expression darkened.
Another message arrived.
"Your dad is upset because he misunderstood me. You can help fix this."
Then another.
"Remember what we talked about. Family secrets stay in the family."
My stomach twisted.
Dad gently took the tablet.
"Have you received messages like this before?"
I nodded.
"Sometimes."
He scrolled upward.
There were dozens.
Some sounded sweet.
Others didn't.
One from two months earlier said:
"If you keep causing problems, your dad may have to choose what matters most."
Another said:
"Good girls don't make their fathers unhappy."
Dad read each one.
His face became harder.
Angela asked if she could preserve copies.
Dad agreed.
I watched the messages being saved.
For so long, I had thought nobody would believe me.
Now the very words Vanessa had used to scare me were being written down.
Dad turned toward me.
"You did nothing wrong."
I nodded.
But I still felt guilty.
"She says she loves you."
Dad's eyes filled.
"Love doesn't give someone permission to hurt my child."
"But if you leave her..."
He waited.
I whispered, "You'll be lonely again."
Dad reached across the table.
"Maya, I was lonely after your mother died. That's true."
He swallowed.
"But marrying someone who hurts you won't fix loneliness. It only brings more pain into our home."
I looked down.
"You really won't be mad?"
"No."
"Even if I don't want another mom?"
He smiled sadly.
"Baby, you already have a mom. Nobody can replace her."
I started crying.
Dad held me until I stopped.
That evening, Grandma made macaroni and cheese.
It was my favorite.
Dad tried to eat, but his phone kept ringing.
Most calls were from Vanessa.
He didn't answer.
After dinner, someone knocked on Grandma's front door.
Three hard knocks.
Dad stood.
"Stay here."
He walked into the hallway.
Through the window, I saw a car parked outside.
A woman stood on the porch.
It wasn't Vanessa.
She had long braids and wore a gray business suit.
Dad opened the door cautiously.
"Can I help you?"
The woman looked nervous.
"Are you Marcus Carter?"
"Yes."
"My name is Tasha Reed."
She held up a folder.
"I used to work with your wife."
Dad didn't move.
Tasha glanced toward the driveway.
"I don't have much time."
"What do you want?"
She took a shaky breath.
"Vanessa has been lying to you."
Dad's expression hardened.
"About what?"
Tasha looked past him and saw me standing near the kitchen.
Her eyes filled with something that looked like pity.
May you like
Then she whispered words I would never forget.
"Your daughter isn't the first child she's tried to push out of a family."
