Chapter 2: The Secret Behind the Sale
Tyler's eyes darted toward Melissa.
She stood beside the aquarium, water dripping from the cuff of her sleeve, her face flushed with anger.
"Answer your father," she snapped.
Tyler swallowed.
"Some guy online.""
Dad folded his arms.
"What's his name?""
"I don't remember.""
"You sold a fifteen-hundred-dollar computer to a stranger, and you don't remember who bought it?""
Tyler shifted his weight.
"He messaged me. We met at a parking lot.""
Dad stared at him.
"Which parking lot?""
"I don't know. Somewhere near the mall.""
"Tyler," Melissa interrupted, "that's enough. Daniel, you're frightening him.""
Dad didn't even turn toward her.
"I'm asking him about something that belongs to his sister. If the truth frightens him, that's his problem.""
I stood beside the staircase, hugging my arms around myself.
For once, Dad wasn't telling me to be patient. He wasn't asking me to consider Tyler's feelings. He was demanding answers.
And Melissa looked terrified.
Not angry.
Terrified.
"Tyler," Dad continued, "did you take the laptop from Emily's room yourself?""
Tyler nodded.
"Yes.""
"Did Emily give you permission?""
"No.""
"Then you stole it.""
Melissa slammed her mug onto the coffee table.
"He's a child! You're treating him like a criminal over a computer!""
Dad's jaw tightened.
"And you're treating Emily like her belongings don't matter.""
"That's not fair.""
"Then explain why you defended him before you even asked what happened.""
Melissa opened her mouth, then closed it.
I watched her fingers tighten around the edge of the table.
Dad turned back to Tyler.
"Why did you sell it instead of asking me for money?""
Tyler's eyes filled with tears.
"I didn't want to.""
The room went still.
Melissa's head snapped toward him.
"Tyler.""
He flinched.
Dad took one step closer.
"What did you say?""
Tyler rubbed his face with his sleeve.
"I didn't want to sell it. Mom told me to take it.""
For a moment, nobody moved.
I heard the aquarium filter humming behind us.
Dad slowly turned toward Melissa.
"Is that true?""
She folded her arms so tightly that her knuckles went pale.
"I was teaching Emily to share with her brother.""
"By telling him to steal her laptop?""
"I never said steal!""
Tyler suddenly shouted, "You told me to get rid of it!""
Melissa spun toward him.
"Don't you dare put this on me!""
"You said she was going to ruin everything!""
"Tyler, shut your mouth!""
Dad stepped between them.
"Nobody is going anywhere until I hear the truth.""
Melissa let out a brittle laugh.
"The truth? Fine. Emily has been selfish ever since I married you. She acts like everything in this house belongs to her.""
"My laptop did belong to me," I said quietly.
Melissa glared at me.
"Stay out of this.""
Dad's voice cut through the room.
"She's the person whose property disappeared. She isn't staying out of anything.""
I had never seen Melissa lose control of a conversation so quickly. Usually, she could turn any disagreement into a lecture about respect, gratitude, or the difficulty of being a stepmother.
Now, she kept looking at Tyler as if he were a ticking bomb.
Dad noticed it, too.
"Tyler, start from the beginning.""
My stepbrother wiped his nose.
"Mom told me Emily had something on her laptop that could cause a big problem. She said if Dad found out, everybody would be in trouble.""
"What something?"" Dad asked.
"I don't know at first.""
"Then what?""
"She made me take it to a repair shop.""
Melissa went completely still.
Dad's eyes narrowed.
"What repair shop?""
Tyler reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a folded receipt.
His hands trembled as he opened it.
"I kept this because Mom said I might need to prove I did what she asked.""
Dad took the receipt.
I leaned closer.
The shop's name was printed at the top. Beneath it were several handwritten notes and a date from the previous Tuesday.
My stomach tightened.
"Why did you take my computer to a repair shop?"" I asked.
Tyler looked at me.
"Because of the camera.""
I frowned.
"What camera?""
"Your laptop camera. You left it on, I guess. Mom said you accidentally recorded something.""
I remembered Tuesday evening.
I'd been working on a scholarship essay at the kitchen table when Dad called to say he'd be home late. I'd taken my laptop upstairs afterward, leaving the camera application running while I searched for a photograph to use in a school project.
I'd thought nothing of it.
"What did I record?"" I asked.
Tyler's lower lip trembled.
"Mom and Uncle Ryan.""
The name struck me like a cold hand around my throat.
Ryan was Dad's younger brother. He had helped manage Grandma's estate after she died and had been advising Dad about my college savings ever since.
Dad gripped the receipt.
"What were they talking about?""
Tyler glanced at Melissa.
She took a sudden step toward him.
"Tyler, don't.""
Dad moved in front of her.
"Finish your sentence.""
Tyler's voice dropped to a whisper.
"They were talking about the eighty thousand dollars Grandma left Emily.""
Dad stopped breathing for a moment.
I felt the room tilt around me.
Grandma had died two years earlier. She'd been the one who attended every school performance, remembered every birthday, and told me that education was the one thing no one could take away from me.
She had left money specifically for my college education.
Dad had explained it to me at the time, sitting beside my bed while I cried into my pillow.
"Your grandmother wanted you to have choices," he'd said.
"That money will help you build your future.""
I had trusted him.
I had trusted Uncle Ryan, too.
Now Dad stared at the receipt as though the paper itself had become dangerous.
"What happened to the money?"" he asked.
Tyler shook his head.
"I don't know everything. But Mom said the recording couldn't exist.""
Melissa lunged for the receipt.
Dad pulled it away.
"Daniel, give me that!""
"No.""
"You're letting a frightened fifteen-year-old invent stories because you're angry about a phone!""
Dad's expression hardened.
"Then this should be easy to explain. What did you and Ryan discuss on Tuesday?""
Melissa's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Then Tyler said the words that shattered whatever remained of her composure.
"Mom told me that if Emily ever found the recording, Dad would discover who really took Grandma's money.""
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Dad looked at his wife.
And for the first time in my life, I saw him look at Melissa as if he no longer knew who she was.
