Chapter 9: The Daughter She Blamed
Mia stared at her mother.
"What did you just say?""
Vanessa walked into the living room.
One officer remained near the door.
The other followed her.
Dad stood immediately.
"Why are you here?""
Vanessa ignored him.
She pointed at Mia.
"Ask her.""
Mia looked as though she'd been punched.
"Mom.""
"You wanted money for college.""
"What?""
"You were furious Richard wouldn't buy you a car.""
"That's a lie!""
Vanessa turned toward Rachel.
"She knew about Ava's trust.""
Rachel closed her folder.
"Mrs. Bennett, we were conducting a private financial review.""
"And I'm giving you the answer.""
Mia's eyes filled with tears.
"You used my email.""
Vanessa looked at her.
"No.""
"Yes, you did.""
"Mia—"
"You borrowed my laptop. You know my password.""
Vanessa's expression flickered.
Dad saw it.
"So does that explain why the files were on Mia's computer?""
Vanessa shook her head.
"I used her laptop once.""
"For almost three hours," Mia said.
Vanessa glared at her.
"Stop exaggerating.""
"You downloaded Dad's documents.""
"I did not.""
Mia grabbed the laptop.
"Then why are they here?""
Vanessa turned toward the officers.
"This is exactly what I'm talking about. They're all turning on me.""
One officer raised a hand.
"Ma'am, we're here because you requested an escort to retrieve personal belongings.""
Dad looked at her.
"So they're not here about Mia.""
Vanessa's face tightened.
"No.""
The officer continued.
"We're not investigating any financial allegation at this time.""
Rachel spoke calmly.
"And nobody here has accused Mia of a crime.""
Vanessa had tried to make it look official.
The realization seemed to hit Mia all at once.
"You brought police officers here and then accused me in front of them.""
"Mia, I was trying to get the truth.""
"No.""
Mia's voice trembled.
"You were trying to scare me.""
Vanessa stepped toward her.
"I'm your mother.""
"Then why are you doing this to me?""
Vanessa stopped.
Mia was crying now.
Not angry tears.
Heartbroken ones.
"You told me Ava was the reason I felt second best.""
Her voice cracked.
"You told me Dad would never love me like her. You told me I had to fight for everything.""
Vanessa whispered, "I was protecting you.""
"You keep saying that!""
Mia slammed her palm against the counter.
Everyone jumped.
"Protecting me from what?""
Vanessa had no answer.
Mia pointed at me.
"She never took anything from me.""
Then she pointed at Dad.
"He never told me I wasn't his daughter.""
Finally, she pointed at herself.
"You made me believe I was unwanted because it made me easier to control.""
Vanessa's face crumpled.
"That's not true.""
"Then prove it.""
"How?""
"Tell them who used my email.""
Silence.
Rachel watched Vanessa carefully.
Dad said nothing.
Neither did I.
Vanessa's lips trembled.
"I don't know.""
Mia laughed through her tears.
"Yes, you do.""
Vanessa looked toward the officers.
"I want my belongings.""
Dad nodded.
"I'll show you upstairs.""
The officers accompanied them.
The moment Vanessa disappeared, Mia collapsed into a chair.
"I can't believe she blamed me.""
I sat beside her.
Neither of us spoke for a while.
Then she whispered, "You should hate me.""
"I did.""
She looked at me.
The honesty surprised her.
"After the dress? I hated you.""
Mia wiped her face.
"Fair.""
"But I'm starting to understand the difference between what you did and what she made you believe.""
"That doesn't excuse me.""
"No.""
I looked at her.
"But maybe people can be guilty and manipulated at the same time.""
She stared at me.
Then nodded.
Twenty minutes later, Vanessa came downstairs carrying two suitcases.
She didn't look at Mia.
That hurt Mia more than another accusation.
At the door, Dad stopped Vanessa.
"Leave the house key.""
She stared at him.
"You're serious?""
"Yes.""
She removed it from her keychain.
Then placed it on the table.
Before leaving, she looked at me.
For one second, I thought she might apologize.
Instead she said, "You won.""
I stood.
"No.""
Vanessa frowned.
"This was never a competition until you made it one.""
Her eyes hardened.
I continued.
"I wanted to graduate. That's all.""
Vanessa looked away.
Then left.
That afternoon, Rachel called.
Dad put her on speaker.
"We traced the device used to request the contact-email change.""
Dad gripped the phone.
"And?""
"It wasn't Mia's laptop.""
Mia closed her eyes in relief.
Rachel continued.
"The request came from a tablet registered to Vanessa Bennett.""
Dad exhaled slowly.
"So Vanessa used Mia's email.""
"It appears that way.""
"Can you prove she submitted the withdrawal request too?""
"We're still investigating.""
There was a pause.
"However, we discovered something else while reviewing the account history.""
I hated those words now.
"What?"" I asked.
Rachel's voice became careful.
"Ava, your trust received a deposit approximately four years ago.""
Dad frowned.
"A deposit?""
"Seventy-five thousand dollars.""
Dad stood.
"From where?""
"We initially assumed it came from another family asset.""
"It didn't?""
"No.""
Papers rustled through the speaker.
"The transfer originated from an account belonging to Daniel Mercer.""
Nobody spoke.
My pulse thundered.
Daniel.
Dad's former business partner.
The man who had helped Vanessa prepare divorce papers.
"Why would Daniel put seventy-five thousand dollars into my daughter's trust?"" Dad asked.
Rachel hesitated.
"I think that's a question you should ask him.""
The call ended.
Dad immediately reached for his phone.
Mia whispered, "This keeps getting worse.""
But something had already clicked in my head.
Daniel hadn't looked surprised by my trust.
He'd only looked surprised by Vanessa's attempt to take money from it.
Dad called him.
Daniel answered on the fourth ring.
"Richard.""
Dad didn't bother with hello.
"Why did you put seventy-five thousand dollars into Ava's trust four years ago?""
Silence.
"Daniel?""
Another long pause.
Then Daniel said something that changed the entire room.
"Because that money never belonged to me.""
Dad's face tightened.
"Then who did it belong to?""
Daniel exhaled.
"Laura.""
My mother's name.
I stood so quickly my chair fell backward.
Dad whispered, "What are you talking about?""
Daniel's voice dropped.
"Richard, there's something Laura asked me to keep from you.""
Dad's face went white.
"What?""
May you like
Daniel paused.
Then said, "I think it's time Ava learned what her mother discovered three weeks before she died.""
