Chương 11
“Twenty-six thousand.”
I turned.
“What?”
She looked pale.
“Dad got twenty-six thousand total.”
Teresa snapped, “Stop going through that.”
Brittany looked at her.
“You mean stop finding things?”
“Those are private records.”
“They’re Ethan’s records.”
“No, they are mine.”
“That account existed because his money went into it.”
My mother stepped forward.
Marcus moved once again, not aggressively, just enough to remind everyone he was there.
Teresa stopped.
Brittany pushed the papers toward me.
“Three transfers.”
“Twelve, five, and nine?”
“Yeah.”
I checked.
She was right.
Nine thousand on the last one.
Twenty-six thousand total.
I sat down.
The room felt too warm.
“Where is Dad now?”
Teresa looked at me.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s a lie.”
“You think everything I say is a lie now.”
“No.”
I tapped the page.
“Just the things contradicted by paper.”
Kayla covered her mouth.
It might have been a laugh.
It might have been nerves.
Teresa shot her a look.
Then Lily spoke.
“Mom.”
Her voice was quiet.
“What?”
“Did Dad ever come here?”
Teresa stared at her.
Lily’s eyes moved toward the hallway.
“I remember somebody coming over.”
My mother’s face changed.
“When?”
Lily swallowed.
“A few years ago.”
“You’re imagining things.”
“No.”
“You were barely home.”
“I was home that night.”
“What night?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then you don’t remember.”
“I remember his voice.”
My skin prickled.
Lily had been eight when our father left.
She had the fewest memories of him.
For years, she claimed she barely remembered his face.
“What did you hear?”
She looked at me.
“I was in the bathroom.”
Teresa said, “This is ridiculous.”
Lily ignored her.
“You and Brittany were both out.”
She nodded toward Kayla.
“You were at school.”
Kayla frowned.
“Which school?”
“College.”
“That doesn’t narrow it down.”
“I know.”
Lily rubbed her palms against her jeans.
“I heard Mom arguing with a man.”
“What about?”
“I couldn’t hear everything.”
Teresa laughed sharply.
“Exactly.”
“But he said Ethan’s name.”
My mother stopped laughing.
I leaned forward.
“What did he say?”
Lily’s voice became smaller.
“He said you were going to find out eventually.”
My pulse climbed.
“What else?”
“I don’t remember.”
“You do.”
“I remember pieces.”
“Tell me the pieces.”
She closed her eyes.
“He said something like, ‘You can’t keep taking from him.’”
The room went completely still.
Teresa’s face drained.
Lily opened her eyes again.
“And Mom said, ‘You don’t get to judge me after what you did.’”
I looked at my mother.
“Was that Dad?”
She said nothing.
“Was it?”
“Yes.”
The answer was barely audible.
Brittany sat back.
“Oh my God.”
Kayla whispered, “You saw him?”
Teresa’s chin lifted.
“A few times.”
Lily stared at her.
“You told us you hadn’t seen him since he left.”
“I said what I needed to say.”
“To who?”
“To all of you.”
“Why?”
“Because he was not good for this family.”
“Then why were you giving him money?”
Teresa’s composure broke.
“Because he was blackmailing me.”
Nobody moved.
Even Marcus looked surprised.
I stared at her.
“For what?”
She closed her mouth.
“What was he blackmailing you over?”
“I’m not discussing this.”
“You just said the word blackmail.”
“I should not have.”
“No, you should have said it six years ago.”
Her voice sharpened.
“You were not in a position to handle it.”
“I was twenty-six.”
“You were immature.”
“You keep saying that like it made me legally yours.”
Her face twisted.
“That is not what I meant.”
“Then what did he have on you?”
Teresa looked around the room as if measuring every person in it.
Finally, she said, “Your grandfather did not intend the money to be used the way the trust papers said.”
I frowned.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“He changed his mind.”
“Did he amend the trust?”
“No.”
“Then legally, he didn’t change anything.”
“I’m not talking about legal paperwork.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“A promise.”
I almost laughed again.
“What promise?”
“He told me before he died that the money should help all of you.”
“All four of us?”
“Yes.”
“Then why put eighty-five thousand in my name?”
“Because he trusted you.”
“That makes no sense.”
“He thought you would take care of your sisters.”
That sounded plausible enough to hurt.
Grandpa had always called me the steady one.
Not because I was especially steady.
Because I had been the oldest boy in a family that constantly needed one.
“What exactly did he say?”
Teresa hesitated.
“He said, ‘Make sure the girls don’t get forgotten.’”
“That is not the same as take my entire share.”
“I did not take your entire share.”
“How much is left?”
She looked down.
That answer was enough.
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
Brittany flipped through the statements.
“These only go back four years.”
Kayla nodded.
“That’s all that was in the folder.”
I looked at my mother.
“What happened after that?”
“I moved the money.”
“To where?”
“Different accounts.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed to manage expenses.”
“My expenses?”
“Family expenses.”
There it was again.
Family.
A word broad enough to hide inside.
Emily shifted in the chair.
I looked at her immediately.
“You okay?”
“Just uncomfortable.”
Renee crouched beside her.
“Any pain?”
“Not like last night.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
I touched Emily’s shoulder.
She covered my hand.
“Finish this.”
I almost told her nothing mattered more than her.
Instead, I nodded.
She already knew.
I faced Teresa again.
“Dad was blackmailing you because you took the money?”
“Yes.”
The answer surprised me.
“So he knew?”
“He found out.”
“How?”
“He saw a statement.”
“Why would he see your bank statement?”
Teresa froze.
Brittany noticed it too.
“What?”
My mother rubbed her forehead.
“It was complicated.”
“Then uncomplicate it.”
She looked exhausted now.
For the first time all morning, she looked her age.
Not like the commanding woman stretched across our couch the night before.
May you like
Like someone who had been carrying too many stories and had finally lost track of which one belonged where.
“Your father and I tried again.”
