Chapter 13: The Man Everyone Blamed
The police officer’s words echoed in my head.
“Your father has been named in a complaint.””
I stared at him.
No.
It didn’t make sense.
Dad was the person who had uncovered everything.
He was the one who found the documents.
He was the one who protected me.
He was the one who sat beside me at dinner and finally saw what Vanessa had been doing.
But now he was the one standing accused.
Dad didn’t move.
He just looked at the officer.
“Who filed the complaint?””
The officer glanced at the paper.
“Vanessa Carter.””
Everyone turned.
Vanessa stood near the doorway.
Her face was unreadable.
For a second, I saw the old Vanessa.
The one who smiled while hurting me.
The one who always had a plan.
Dad looked at her.
“You’re doing this?””
She didn’t answer.
“After everything?””
Her eyes flickered.
“I have to.””
My chest tightened.
“You have to?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“Maya, you don’t understand.””
I stepped forward.
“No. I think I finally do.””
The officer looked between us.
“Mr. Carter, I need you to come with me while this is investigated.””
Dad nodded slowly.
“I understand.””
I grabbed his arm.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“It’s okay.””
“It’s not.””
His expression softened.
For the first time in days, he looked like my father again.
Not a businessman.
Not someone fighting a battle.
Just my dad.
“Maya, listen to me.””
I shook my head.
“What?””
“Whatever happens, you do not trust anyone who tries to rush you.””
I looked toward Vanessa.
Then Daniel.
“Who do I trust?””
Dad didn’t hesitate.
“You.””
The answer surprised me.
“You trust yourself.””
The officer stepped forward.
Dad took one last look around the room.
Then his eyes stopped on the metal box from Daniel’s desk.
“Maya.””
I looked at it.
“Open it.””
“What?””
“Your mother left that for you.””
The officer guided him toward the door.
I wanted to follow.
I wanted to stop everything.
But I couldn’t move.
The door closed.
And my father was gone.
The house felt empty without him.
Not quiet.
Empty.
There was a difference.
Quiet meant peace.
This felt like someone had removed the person holding everything together.
Grandma sat in the living room, staring at the floor.
Daniel had disappeared before the police arrived.
Vanessa was still there.
And somehow, that bothered me most.
“You’re happy now?”” I asked.
She looked up.
“No.””
“Because Dad was arrested?””
Her face tightened.
“Because everything is falling apart.””
I laughed.
“Everything?””
I pointed around the room.
“You mean your plan?””
Her eyes filled with anger.
“You think I wanted this?””
“I don’t know what you wanted.””
I picked up the metal box.
“But I know what you did.””
She looked at it.
And fear crossed her face.
“You shouldn’t open that.””
My hand froze.
“Why?””
She stood.
“Maya.””
“No.””
I stepped back.
“You don’t get to tell me what I can do anymore.””
For once, she didn’t argue.
She just looked scared.
That made me even more curious.
I took the box upstairs.
I locked my bedroom door.
Then I opened it.
Inside was a flash drive.
A small notebook.
And one final envelope.
My mother’s handwriting.
I opened it.
My Maya,
If you are reading this, then the people I feared have finally shown themselves.
I held my breath.
The hardest truth is this: the person who hurt our family was never the person everyone suspected.
I looked at the notebook.
Inside were dates.
Payments.
Names.
And one name appeared over and over.
Daniel Reeves.
But beside his name was another.
Someone else.
Someone who had been moving money.
Someone who had helped him.
My hands shook.
Because the second name was not Vanessa.
It was not Grandma.
It was not Dad.
It was someone I had never questioned.
Someone who had been around my entire life.
I turned the page.
And found the final entry.
My mother had written:
If anything happens to me, do not blame James.
I stopped.
Dad.
My mother knew.
She knew he would be blamed.
The next line made my heart race.
The person who frames him will be the person who benefits from making Maya hate him.
I stared at the words.
Then I heard a sound outside my bedroom.
The door handle moved.
Someone was trying to open it.
I grabbed the notebook.
“Who is there?””
Silence.
Then a voice answered.
A voice I recognized.
“Maya…”
My blood went cold.
Because it was Vanessa.
May you like
And she whispered:
“You need to see what your father did.””
