Chapter 5: The Person Who Received My Mother’s Money
The name on the document didn’t make sense.
That was the first thing I thought.
It wasn’t Vanessa.
It wasn’t Dad.
It wasn’t even someone I knew.
Dad stared at the bank information on his phone.
“Impossible.””
I looked at him.
“Who is it?””
He didn’t answer.
Vanessa’s face had gone completely white.
“Daniel.””
Dad slowly looked up.
“Why do you know that name?””
Her lips parted.
But no words came out.
That was when I realized something.
She knew.
She knew exactly what he was about to say.
Dad held the phone tighter.
“The account holder is…”
He looked at me.
“Emily.””
I blinked.
“What?””
“The money was transferred into an account under your name.””
I stared at him.
“That’s not possible.””
“It is.””
“But I don’t have access to that.””
Dad looked at the papers again.
“Apparently, you do.””
Vanessa suddenly spoke.
“She must have changed something.””
Everyone looked at her.
She immediately went quiet.
Dad noticed.
“You knew.””
“No.””
“You knew Emily still had the money.””
“I suspected.””
The anger returned to his face.
“You suspected?””
Vanessa looked desperate.
“I didn’t know where it went.””
“You knew enough to hide the letter.””
She shook her head.
“I was trying to protect myself.””
The honesty shocked even her.
She covered her mouth.
But it was too late.
Dad heard it.
I heard it.
She wasn’t protecting the family.
She was protecting herself.
Dad sat down slowly.
For the first time that night, he looked tired.
Not angry.
Just tired.
“Emily,” he said softly.
“I’m sorry.””
I looked at him.
“Why are you apologizing?””
His eyes filled with regret.
“Because I should have protected you.””
I wanted to say it wasn’t his fault.
But the truth was complicated.
Because he had trusted someone who betrayed us both.
“I thought we were a family,” I whispered.
Dad looked down.
“So did I.””
A knock came at the door.
Everyone turned.
It was Mia.
She stood there crying.
“I need to tell you something.””
Dad didn’t respond.
She stepped inside.
“I didn’t know about the money.””
Vanessa looked at her.
“Mia.””
“No, Mom.””
Mia wiped her face.
“You told me Emily was trying to ruin us.””
Vanessa looked away.
“But you never told me why.””
She looked at me.
“I thought you hated me because you were better than me.””
I didn’t know what to say.
Mia laughed sadly.
“I was jealous of you.””
The confession surprised me.
“You had everything I wanted.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“You worked hard. Teachers liked you. Dad was proud of you.””
She looked down.
“I thought everyone loved you more.””
I remembered all the times Mia had mocked me.
All the times she made cruel comments.
All the times Vanessa defended her.
“I didn’t hate you because you had less,” Mia whispered.
“I hated you because you reminded me that I wasn’t trying.””
The room was quiet.
Then Dad asked:
“Why did you destroy the dress?””
Mia started crying harder.
“Mom told me to.””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“Mia.””
“She said if Emily wore that dress, everyone would see how successful she was.””
I felt a strange emptiness.
Not anger.
Just disappointment.
Mia continued.
“She told me to make sure Emily didn’t have anything special for graduation.””
Dad looked at Vanessa.
“You used your own daughter.””
Vanessa didn’t answer.
Mia looked toward the box.
“There’s more.””
Dad turned.
“What?””
Mia walked to the desk and pulled out another folder.
“I found this when I was looking for the documents.””
She handed it over.
Dad opened it.
Inside were printed emails.
His face changed with every page.
“What are those?”” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
He read one line aloud.
“Transfer completed. Emily’s access remains restricted until she turns twenty-one.””
My blood ran cold.
“Restricted?””
Dad looked at Vanessa.
“You blocked her access.””
Vanessa whispered:
“I had a reason.””
Dad slammed the folder shut.
“No more excuses.””
He picked up another page.
Then stopped.
“What?””
I asked.
He stared at the signature.
“Because this agreement…”
He looked confused.
“…wasn’t signed by me.””
The room froze.
Vanessa looked terrified.
Dad turned the paper around.
At the bottom was a signature.
A fake signature.
His fake signature.
And below it was a date.
A date from two years after my mother died.
Dad whispered:
“Someone forged my name.””
Then his eyes moved slowly toward Vanessa.
May you like
And this time, she didn’t look scared.
She looked caught.
