Chapter 8: The Secret Account
After hearing those words, my dad didn’t wait.
The second Vanessa ended the call, he asked:
“Move what?””
She froze.
“What?””
“You said we need to move before she tells me everything.””
Vanessa’s face turned pale.
“I was talking about something else.””
“No, you weren’t.””
She looked at me.
“This is what you wanted, isn’t it?””
I frowned.
“What?””
“You wanted to turn him against me.””
I couldn’t believe it.
Even after everything, she still found a way to blame me.
“I wanted my money back.””
Vanessa grabbed her purse.
“I’m done having this conversation.””
My dad stepped in front of the door.
“No.””
She stopped.
“Michael.””
“No more walking away.””
His voice was different.
Stronger.
I had never heard him speak to her that way.
“You owe Emily answers.””
Vanessa stared at him.
Then she smiled.
A cold, disappointed smile.
“You really think you know everything now?””
My dad didn’t respond.
She walked upstairs.
But before she disappeared, she looked at me.
“This isn’t over.””
That night, my dad and I searched through the financial records he had access to.
Not because we wanted to invade privacy.
Because we needed to understand where my money went.
And what else had happened.
For hours, we found nothing.
Then my dad noticed something.
“Wait.””
He zoomed in on a transaction.
“What?””
“This transfer didn’t come from your account.””
I looked closer.
“Then where?””
He checked the details.
“A separate account.””
My stomach tightened.
“Whose?””
He stared at the screen.
Then he looked at me.
“Vanessa’s.””
I felt sick.
The money wasn’t just spent.
It had been moved first.
Organized.
Planned.
My dad kept scrolling.
Then he found another transfer.
And another.
“This isn’t just your savings.””
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?””
“There were other withdrawals.””
“From where?””
He didn’t answer immediately.
Then he said:
“The household account.””
I froze.
“What?””
My dad looked confused.
“She’s been moving money around for months.””
“How much?””
He didn’t tell me right away.
That scared me.
Finally, he said:
“More than I realized.””
The next day, my dad confronted Vanessa.
This time, I stayed upstairs.
I didn’t want another argument.
I didn’t want screaming.
I just wanted the truth.
But I heard their voices through the hallway.
“You lied to me.””
“You’re being dramatic.””
“I trusted you.””
“And I managed the household.””
“That doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want.””
Silence.
Then Vanessa said:
“You have no idea what I’ve sacrificed.””
My dad answered:
“Neither did Emily.””
That sentence made me stop.
Because it was the first time he had defended me.
A few minutes later, he came upstairs.
His face looked exhausted.
“She admitted moving the money.””
I stood up.
“Why?””
“She said she thought she was helping.””
I laughed quietly.
“Helping?””
My dad looked down.
“There’s more.””
“What?””
“She said she borrowed money from different places.””
My stomach dropped.
“Borrowed?””
He nodded.
“And she expected future income to cover it.””
I stared at him.
“Whose future income?””
He didn’t answer.
I already knew.
Mine.
That evening, I opened my bedroom door and found something sitting on the floor.
An envelope.
No name.
No return address.
Just my initials written on the front.
I picked it up slowly.
Inside was one piece of paper.
A printed message.
The first line made my hands shake.
“I know you found the account.””
I kept reading.
The second line was worse.
“I also know what you’re planning to do next.””
I looked around my empty room.
Someone had been watching me.
May you like
And then I reached the final sentence.
“You think this is about money, Emily. It never was.””
