Chapter 2: The Marketplace Message
Dad sat at the dining table and pointed toward the chair opposite him.
“Sit.””
Tyler didn't move.
Melissa stepped beside him.
“Daniel, he's fifteen.””
Dad looked at her.
“I know exactly how old he is.””
“You're treating him like a criminal.””
“He entered someone else's bedroom, took property that didn't belong to him, and sold it.””
“He made a mistake.””
Dad's eyes narrowed.
“A mistake is knocking over a glass.””
He pointed upstairs.
“That required a decision. Then another decision. Then another.””
Tyler looked toward the stairs.
Dad noticed.
“Don't.””
“I was just—”
“Sit down.””
Tyler finally obeyed.
Dad turned toward me.
“Do you have the serial number?””
I nodded.
“The receipt is in my email.””
“Get it.””
Melissa threw up her hands.
“This is ridiculous.””
Dad ignored her.
I grabbed my old tablet and found the purchase confirmation.
Dad photographed the serial number with his phone.
Then he looked at Tyler.
“Unlock your phone.””
Tyler glanced toward the aquarium.
His new phone was lying on a towel now, black and lifeless.
“My old phone.””
Tyler's face changed.
“What?””
“The phone you had yesterday. Where is it?””
“In my room.””
“Bring it down.””
Melissa stepped forward.
“Daniel, you don't get to search his private messages.””
Dad looked at her.
“He used those private messages to sell stolen property.””
“He's my son.””
“And she's my daughter.””
The room went silent.
Melissa stared at him.
Dad didn't blink.
“Bring me the phone, Tyler.””
Tyler trudged upstairs.
I sat beside Dad.
My hands were still trembling.
Dad noticed.
“You okay?””
“No.””
“I know.””
“I worked so hard for it.””
“I know that too.””
His voice softened.
“We're getting it back.””
Melissa laughed bitterly.
“You can't promise that.””
Dad looked at her.
“I can promise I'm going to try.””
Tyler returned holding an older phone.
Dad held out his hand.
Tyler clutched it tighter.
“I deleted the listing.””
Dad's expression changed.
“How did you sell it?””
“Marketplace.””
“Then there are messages.””
“I deleted those too.””
Dad stared at him.
Tyler stared back.
Finally Dad said, “Unlock it.””
“No.””
Melissa stepped beside Tyler.
“He said no.””
Dad leaned back.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he reached for his own phone.
“Okay.””
Tyler frowned.
“Okay?””
“I'm calling the police.””
Melissa's mouth fell open.
“What?””
Dad started dialing.
“Dad!”” Tyler shouted.
Dad stopped.
“You have two choices. We handle this as a family and try to recover what you stole, or I report the laptop stolen and give the police its serial number.””
Melissa grabbed Dad's wrist.
“You would call the police on a fifteen-year-old?””
“I would report stolen property.””
“You're trying to scare him.””
“No. I'm trying to teach him that stealing has consequences.””
Tyler's face had gone pale.
“Don't call them.””
“Then unlock the phone.””
Tyler did.
Dad opened the marketplace app.
The listing was deleted, but the conversation with the buyer remained.
Dad read silently.
I watched his expression.
Something was wrong.
“What?”” I asked.
He didn't answer.
He scrolled upward.
Then he turned the screen toward Tyler.
“You told the buyer it belonged to you.””
Tyler stared at the floor.
“You said you were eighteen.””
Silence.
“You told him you needed quick cash because you were leaving for college.””
Melissa groaned.
“Okay, he lied. Teenagers lie.””
Dad looked at her like he couldn't believe she'd said it.
Then he kept reading.
His eyes stopped.
“What's this?””
Tyler's head snapped up.
Dad read aloud.
“‘No receipt, but I can get you the password tonight.’”
My blood went cold.
“What password?””
Tyler said nothing.
I grabbed the tablet.
“My laptop had a password.””
Dad turned toward me.
“Did Tyler know it?””
“No.””
Then I remembered.
Two nights earlier, I'd been doing homework at the kitchen counter.
Tyler had walked behind me.
He'd asked if I wanted pizza.
I hadn't thought anything of it.
Dad looked at Tyler.
“How did you unlock her computer?””
“I guessed.””
“No, you didn't.””
“It was easy.””
“What was the password?””
Tyler stayed silent.
Dad's jaw tightened.
Then another message appeared.
The buyer had just replied.
*Hey, kid. We have a problem.*
Dad opened it.
Another message arrived.
*The laptop is locked remotely. I want my $600 back.*
Tyler's face drained.
Dad looked at me.
“Did you remotely lock it?””
I nodded.
“I marked it lost from my account while you were talking.””
For the first time all night, I felt a tiny spark of satisfaction.
Dad typed a response.
*This is the laptop's owner. It was stolen and sold without permission.*
The typing bubbles appeared almost immediately.
Then vanished.
Appeared again.
Finally the buyer responded.
*Call me. Now.*
A phone number followed.
Dad called.
A man answered on the second ring.
“Hello?””
“My name is Daniel. You purchased a laptop tonight from my fifteen-year-old stepson.””
Silence.
Then the man said something that made Dad sit straighter.
“Sir, the laptop isn't the only thing your kid offered me.””
Dad's eyes moved slowly toward Tyler.
“What else did he offer you?””
Tyler shot out of his chair.
“Hang up!””
Dad stood.
“What else?””
May you like
The man answered.
And whatever he said made Dad's face go completely still.
