Chapter 10: The Lie My Father Built
The call ended before I could answer.
I stared at my phone.
Look at your father.
David was watching me from across the table.
“What did they say?””
I swallowed.
“That I’m looking at the wrong person.””
His expression tightened.
“Who?””
“My father.””
David didn’t look surprised.
That scared me more than the call.
“You know something.””
“I know possibilities.””
“No.””
I leaned forward.
“I’m finished with possibilities. Tell me what you know.””
David opened his folder again.
“Your father told your family that Thomas Reed destroyed the company your grandfather left him.””
“Yes.””
“That’s not exactly what happened.””
My chest tightened.
“What happened?””
“Your father and Thomas were partners in a separate investment.””
He placed an old financial statement in front of me.
“Twenty-two years ago, they used money from the family business to fund it.””
“Was that illegal?””
“Using the money wasn’t necessarily illegal. Hiding the losses afterward was.””
I stared at the page.
“How much did they lose?””
“Almost two million dollars.””
I almost laughed.
My father had spent my childhood telling Rebecca and me that our grandfather’s business had collapsed because of bad markets.
“Dad blamed Thomas.””
“Publicly, yes.””
“And privately?””
David hesitated.
“Your father signed the transfers.””
My throat tightened.
“No.””
“I have copies.””
“He could have been tricked.””
“He may have been pressured. He may have trusted Thomas. I can’t tell you his state of mind twenty-two years ago.””
At least David wasn’t pretending certainty where there wasn’t any.
“But he signed them?””
“Yes.””
I stood.
“I need to talk to him.””
“Sarah.””
“What?””
“Don’t show him everything.””
I turned.
“Why?””
“Because someone is still manipulating the evidence.””
I looked at my phone.
“The cloned number.””
David nodded.
“And something else.””
He pulled out another sheet.
It showed recent transfers from one of Michael’s hidden accounts.
Most were numbers I didn’t recognize.
One recipient made me stop.
ROBERT MILLER.
My father.
“He received money?””
“Three transfers.””
“How much?””
“Seventy-five thousand total.””
I sat back down.
“When?””
“Over the last six months.””
My hands began trembling.
Michael had transferred money to my father.
Dad had attacked him in the street.
Dad had acted shocked.
Dad had stood in my apartment and listened while I discovered everything.
“Why would Michael pay him?””
“That’s what you need to ask.””
I drove straight to my parents’ house.
Dad’s truck was outside.
Mom opened the door.
“Sarah?””
“Where is he?””
“In the garage.””
She reached for me.
“What happened?””
I walked past her.
Dad was at his workbench, repairing an old lamp.
He looked up.
“Hey, sweetheart.””
That nearly broke me.
Sweetheart.
Like I was still ten years old.
“Did Michael give you seventy-five thousand dollars?””
The screwdriver slipped from his hand.
That was my answer.
Mom appeared behind me.
“What?””
Dad’s face went pale.
“Sarah, where did you hear that?””
“Did he?””
He looked at Mom.
She stared back at him.
“Robert?””
Dad slowly sat down.
“Yes.””
Mom covered her mouth.
I felt strangely calm.
“Why?””
“It wasn’t what you think.””
I laughed.
“That sentence should be our family motto.””
Dad rubbed both hands over his face.
“I owed someone.””
“Thomas Reed?””
His head snapped up.
“How do you know that name?””
“Answer me.””
“Yes.””
Mom stepped forward.
“You told me Thomas was gone.””
“I thought he was.””
“You lied to me?””
Dad stood.
“I was trying to protect you.””
Mom shook her head.
“No. You were protecting yourself.””
Their voices began rising.
I stepped between them.
“Stop.””
They both looked at me.
“What did Thomas want?””
Dad’s shoulders sagged.
“Documents.””
“What documents?””
“Records from the old company.””
“Why?””
“Because they prove what he did.””
“Then why not give them to police?””
Dad looked away.
“Because they also prove what I did.””
There it was.
The truth.
Not innocence.
Not villainy.
A man who had made a terrible choice and spent twenty-two years hiding it.
“Michael found out?””
Dad nodded.
“He discovered the records while helping me organize old financial files.””
“And Thomas?””
“He found out Michael had them.””
My stomach tightened.
“So Michael paid you?””
“No.””
Dad shook his head.
“He moved money through my account.””
“Why?””
“To make Thomas think I was cooperating.””
I stared at him.
“You let my husband use our money?””
“I didn’t know it was yours.””
“Did you ask?””
Silence.
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course not.””
Dad stepped toward me.
“Sarah, I never wanted you involved.””
“But you involved me every time you lied.””
His eyes filled with tears.
“I know.””
I turned away.
Then I noticed something on his workbench.
A small black phone.
Not his regular phone.
I picked it up.
Dad’s expression changed.
“Sarah.””
“What is this?””
“Put that down.””
“Why?””
“Please.””
I pressed the side button.
The screen lit up.
There were no contacts.
Only one recent outgoing call.
I recognized the time.
It was the exact minute the anonymous caller had contacted me at the restaurant.
My father moved toward me.
“Sarah, give me the phone.””
I stepped backward.
“You called me.””
“No.””
“The call came from this phone.””
“I can explain.””
May you like
My chest tightened.
“Then explain why my own father just told me to stop looking at my husband and start looking at himself.””
