Chapter 5: The Account Nobody Knew About
The next morning, I woke up in my grandmother’s guest room.
I didn’t remember driving there.
I only remembered sitting in the passenger seat while Grandma talked quietly and Mom watched from the front porch.
She didn’t chase after me.
She didn’t apologize again.
She just stood there.
Like she knew she had lost something she couldn’t replace.
I spent the night staring at the ceiling.
Wondering how many things I believed that weren’t true.
At 8:00 a.m., Daniel arrived.
He carried the same leather folder.
Grandma poured coffee into two cups.
“Ethan,” she said softly, “before we start, there’s something you need to understand.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
“Your grandfather loved your mother.””
I didn’t answer.
“He trusted her.””
I looked down.
“That makes this worse.””
Grandma nodded.
“Yes.””
Daniel sat across from me.
“Your grandfather didn’t create the trust because he thought your mother was a bad person.””
“Then why?””
“Because he knew good people could make terrible decisions under pressure.””
I thought about Mom.
About the way she cried.
About the way she said she was trying to fix it.
Maybe she wasn’t trying to hurt me.
But she still did.
Daniel opened the folder.
“I reviewed the withdrawals.””
“And?””
“There were three major transfers.””
“How much?””
He looked at the paper.
“The first was $35,000.””
I clenched my jaw.
“The second?””
“$28,000.””
“And the third?””
He paused.
“$19,000.””
I closed my eyes.
Eighty-two thousand dollars.
Almost everything.
“What were they for?””
Daniel turned a page.
“The first two payments went toward Madison’s private school tuition.””
I expected that.
The third one didn’t.
“What about the last payment?””
Daniel looked at me.
“That’s where things become complicated.””
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?””
“The payment was not made to the school.””
“Then where?””
He slid the document across the table.
I looked at the name.
My hands went cold.
Richard Hayes.
“Why did my stepfather receive money from my account?””
Daniel leaned back.
“That is what we need to determine.””
I stared at the page.
For years, I had thought Richard was just distant.
Not cruel.
Not caring.
Just distant.
But now every memory looked different.
The expensive vacations.
The new cars.
The sudden renovations to the house.
Things I never questioned.
Things I assumed my family could afford.
Grandma touched my hand.
“Ethan.””
I looked at her.
“Did Mom know?””
Daniel answered.
“We don’t know yet.””
That hurt more than I expected.
Because I realized there was a possibility my mother wasn’t the only person who betrayed me.
I grabbed my phone.
I wanted to call her.
I wanted answers.
But before I could, a message appeared.
From Mom.
Please come home. I need to tell you something before Richard does.
I stared at the screen.
Grandma noticed my expression.
“What happened?””
I showed her.
Daniel became serious.
“Be careful.””
“With my mom?””
“With everyone.””
The words stayed with me.
Because that was the problem.
I didn’t know who deserved my trust anymore.
An hour later, I arrived at the house.
Mom was waiting at the kitchen table.
The same place where I had discovered the missing money.
But this time, she looked different.
Smaller.
Older.
She pushed a folder toward me.
“I found this after you left.””
I didn’t touch it.
“What is it?””
She swallowed.
“Something Richard didn’t want you to see.””
My eyes narrowed.
“Why should I believe you?””
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“Because if I had known the truth sooner, I would have stopped him.””
The room went silent.
“Stopped him from what?””
She looked toward the hallway.
Then whispered:
“Ethan… your college fund wasn’t the only money Richard took.””
I froze.
“What else?””
She opened the folder.
Inside were bank statements.
Not from my account.
From another one.
A family account.
And the transactions weren’t just withdrawals.
They were deposits.
Large deposits.
From somewhere else.
Then I saw the date of the first transfer.
It was the same month Grandpa died.
May you like
And the name attached to the transaction made my entire body go numb.
My father.
