Chapter 4: The Secret Tyler Was Afraid to Tell
“Emily, whatever happens, do not go home alone tonight.””
Arthur Bennett's warning followed me out of the conference room, but my attention remained fixed on the last message Tyler had sent.
I think Vanessa has been keeping something from him, too.
I tried calling him back. Straight to voicemail.
Grandma Margaret took my hand as we entered the elevator.
“Your brother may finally be realizing what he's been part of.””
“Or he's scared Dad will take his car away.””
“Both things can be true, sweetheart.””
I looked down at the trust documents tucked inside my backpack.
For six years, I had believed my family was struggling financially. My father complained about mortgage payments, utility bills, and the cost of maintaining the house. Vanessa frequently reminded me that every dollar spent on my education was a dollar unavailable to the rest of the family.
Yet somehow, Tyler had received expensive electronics, designer clothes, and now a brand-new SUV.
I'd never questioned it. I thought I was the one who needed to sacrifice because I was older, more responsible, and more capable of earning my own money.
Now I wondered whether that had been exactly what they wanted me to believe.
Grandma drove me to her house instead of taking me home.
“You can stay here,” she said, unlocking the front door.
“I'll make lunch, and we'll figure out what comes next.””
“I need to know what Tyler meant about Vanessa's house.””
“We will. But not by rushing into a confrontation.””
I followed her into the kitchen. The familiar smell of cinnamon and coffee should have comforted me, but my nerves were too tight.
My phone buzzed.
Tyler.
*Tyler:* Meet me at the old basketball court behind the community center. Alone. Please.
I showed Grandma.
She frowned.
“I don't like the word alone.””
“He won't talk if Dad knows.””
“Then take your phone, keep me informed, and stay somewhere public. If he asks you to get into a car or go somewhere private, you leave.””
I promised I would.
Twenty minutes later, I found Tyler sitting on the bleachers behind the community center. His new SUV was parked at the curb, its black paint gleaming beneath the gray sky.
He looked nothing like the smug young man who had laughed at me in the driveway.
His graduation sweatshirt was wrinkled, his hair uncombed, and his hands kept rubbing against his jeans.
“You came,” he said.
“Start talking.””
He glanced toward the parking lot.
“Dad called me five times. Vanessa called me seven.””
“Maybe they should have spent that energy explaining why they stole my money.””
He flinched.
“Emily, I didn't know about your savings account. I swear.””
“You knew enough to laugh when I found out.””
“I thought you were being dramatic. Dad said the money was from an investment account he controlled.””
I folded my arms.
“And you never wondered why a graduation present cost forty-two thousand dollars?””
Tyler looked away.
“No.””
The honesty was almost worse than another excuse.
He dragged a hand through his hair.
“Last night, I went downstairs to get water. They were arguing in the kitchen. Vanessa kept saying you had no idea how much money was involved.””
“What exactly did she say?””
“She said, ‘If Emily gets those records, she'll find the transfers to the house.’ Dad told her to stop talking about it.””
My stomach tightened.
“What house?””
“The house they bought three years ago. Vanessa said her parents gave them the down payment, but I heard her tell Dad that the money came from an account ending in 4418.””
He took a folded piece of paper from his pocket.
“I wrote it down because I thought it might matter.””
The paper contained four digits: 4418.
I recognized the number.
It matched the final digits of the secondary account Arthur had mentioned.
My mouth went dry.
“Did you hear anything else?””
Tyler nodded slowly.
“Vanessa said she needed the money because her business was failing. Dad said he agreed to one transfer, not several. Then she told him he couldn't pretend to be innocent because he'd signed the paperwork.””
I sat beside him.
“So they both knew.””
“I guess.””
“You guess?””
He turned toward me, frustration flashing across his face.
“What do you want me to say? I wasn't in charge of the money!””
“No, Tyler. You were just happy to spend it.””
He opened his mouth, then closed it.
For once, he had no clever comeback.
I stood.
“If you have information that can help prove what happened, tell the attorney. I'm not going to protect you from the consequences of what you did know.””
Tyler grabbed my wrist, then immediately released it when I looked down.
“Wait. There's more.””
I remained standing.
He swallowed.
“Vanessa has a locked filing cabinet in the home office. Dad told her to empty it this morning. I heard them arguing because she refused.””
“Why?””
“I don't know. But she said, ‘If you make me take the fall for this, I'll show Emily what you did before her mother died.’”
The air seemed to disappear from my lungs.
“What does that mean?””
Tyler shook his head.
“I don't know. Dad went completely silent. Then he told her never to say those words again.””
I thought of my mother, her hospital room, and the promise my father had made beside her bed.
“What did she mean by before Mom died?””
“I don't know, Emily.””
I believed him.
But I also understood that the truth was no longer limited to the money. Whatever Vanessa had kept hidden, it had frightened my father more than the possibility of losing his house.
My phone vibrated.
Arthur Bennett had sent a message.
*The bank has located additional records connected to the secondary account. Please come to my office tomorrow morning. Do not confront either parent before we review them.*
I showed Tyler.
He stared at the screen.
“Emily, I think you should know something about Dad.””
“What?””
“He hasn't been sleeping. And this morning, I heard him tell Vanessa that if the attorney discovers the original beneficiary designation, neither of them will be able to explain what happened.””
I felt my fingers tighten around my phone.
“Original beneficiary designation?””
Tyler nodded.
“He said the name on it wasn't supposed to be you.””
For several seconds, I could only stare at him.
My mother had created an education trust in my name. I had seen the documents. I'd read the provisions.
So why would my father say the original beneficiary designation named someone else?
Unless something had been changed.
Or unless the money had never been intended to reach me in the way I had been told.
I stepped away from the bleachers.
“I'm going to Arthur.””
Tyler stood too.
“Emily, if you find out what happened, will you tell me?””
I looked at the brother who had accepted a luxury SUV while I watched my future disappear.
“I'll tell you the truth,” I said.
“Whether you like it or not.””
As I walked toward the parking lot, my phone rang.
The caller ID displayed my father's name.
I answered but said nothing.
“Emily,” Daniel said, his voice unnervingly calm, “I know you've been talking to Tyler.””
I stopped walking.
“How?””
“Because he's my son, and I know when he's lying.””
“Then you should know why he's frightened.””
My father exhaled.
“Come home tonight. We need to talk about your mother.””
I gripped the phone.
“You had plenty of opportunities to talk about her. You told me not to bring her into this.””
“I was wrong.””
The admission caught me off guard.
Then he added, “But if you want to understand what really happened to that money, you need to hear the story from me before Bennett tells you a version designed to destroy our family.””
“Why?””
His answer came in a whisper.
“Because your mother made a decision before she died that she never told you about.””
May you like
The call ended.
And for the first time, I wondered whether the money my father had stolen was only the beginning of the betrayal.
