Chapter 12: What Amanda Was Hiding
Lily didn’t understand at first.
She looked at Dad.
Then at the phone.
Then back at Dad.
“Michael is my dad?””
Dad knelt immediately.
“I’m your dad.””
“But Mom said—”
“There are different meanings.””
His voice shook.
“Michael may be your biological father. We still have to verify that.””
Lily’s face crumpled.
“Do I have to go with him?””
“No.””
Dad said it so quickly that Thomas looked at him.
Dad corrected himself.
“No one is taking you anywhere today. The adults will handle this properly.””
Amanda was still on the phone.
“Daniel, please.””
“Where are you?””
“I can’t tell you.””
“If Michael is threatening you, we need to know.””
“He said he would tell Lily everything.””
Dad stared at the phone.
“That’s what you were afraid of?””
“No.””
“What else?””
Amanda didn’t answer.
Marcus spoke.
“The financial withdrawals?””
Silence.
“Amanda, did Michael demand money?””
“Yes.””
“How much?””
“At first, ten thousand.””
“And then?””
“More.””
Dad sat down.
“How much did you give him?””
“Forty thousand.””
Marcus frowned.
“The withdrawals total nearly forty-nine.””
“I used the rest.””
“For what?””
Amanda’s voice became tiny.
“Bills.””
Dad’s jaw tightened.
“Luxury purchases are not bills.””
“I know.””
“You let Ethan go hungry while you spent his mother’s money.””
Amanda began sobbing.
“I know!””
Lily flinched.
Dad lowered his voice.
“Why?””
“I was angry at everything.””
“That isn’t an explanation.””
“I know!””
For several seconds, only Amanda’s crying came through the phone.
Then she said, “I hated Rebecca.””
Dad looked stunned.
“You never met her.””
“I hated living with her ghost.””
“She was Ethan’s mother.””
“I know.””
“The pictures stay because Ethan deserves to know her.””
“I know.””
“The trust exists because she died!””
“I know!””
Amanda’s voice cracked completely.
“And every time I saw Ethan, I remembered there was a part of your life I could never touch.””
I stared at the phone.
Dad’s face hardened.
“So you hurt him.””
Amanda didn’t deny it.
That was worse.
“I told myself it wasn’t hurting him.””
She sniffed.
“I told myself noodles were food. Missing one meal wasn’t starvation. Locking snacks would teach discipline.””
My stomach tightened.
“I kept changing the words until what I was doing sounded acceptable.””
Dad looked at me.
His eyes filled.
Amanda continued.
“Then Michael came back.””
Marcus asked, “Why?””
“He had debts.””
“And Lily?””
“He knew she was his.””
Dad stood.
“You told me her father was Chris.””
“I lied.””
“You let me raise her for four years while knowing Michael was her father?””
“He abandoned us!””
Amanda shouted.
“He disappeared before she was born. You were the first man who ever treated her like she mattered.””
Dad went silent.
“Then why didn’t you let me adopt her?””
“I tried.””
“No. You pretended.””
Amanda started crying again.
“Michael refused consent.””
“So you lied to me.””
“I thought I could fix it later.””
“How?””
Silence.
Marcus already knew.
“With money.””
Amanda whispered, “Yes.””
Dad closed his eyes.
“He came back six months ago and threatened to claim parental rights?””
“Yes.””
“He demanded money?””
“Yes.””
“And you took it from Ethan.””
“Yes.””
Each answer sounded smaller.
Dad sat down.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because I knew what you’d do.””
“What?””
“You’d hire Marcus. You’d go to court. You’d fight him.””
“Yes.””
“And everyone would learn I lied about Lily.””
Dad stared at her.
“So protecting your lie mattered more than protecting Ethan.””
Amanda didn’t answer.
Lily suddenly walked toward the phone.
“Mom?””
Amanda inhaled sharply.
“Yes, baby?””
“Did Ethan get noodles because of me?””
“No!””
For the first time, Amanda sounded certain.
“No, Lily. Never think that.””
“Then why?””
Amanda cried quietly.
“Because I failed him.””
Lily looked at me.
She reached for my hand.
“Say it to him.””
Amanda was silent.
Lily repeated herself.
“Say it.””
Amanda whispered, “Ethan, what I did was wrong.””
I didn’t know what to say.
“I was angry at your father. I was afraid of Michael. I was jealous of your mother. And instead of dealing with those feelings like an adult, I took them out on a child who couldn’t fight back.””
Dad lowered his head.
“I’m sorry.””
I swallowed.
“Are you coming back?””
Amanda cried harder.
“I don’t know.””
“Why?””
“Because I did things that have consequences.””
Thomas looked at me with sadness in his eyes.
I asked, “Do you still love Lily?””
“Yes.””
“Then stop running.””
The room became silent.
Dad looked at me.
Amanda stopped crying.
I continued.
“Dad always says running makes lies bigger.””
Dad gave the smallest, saddest smile.
Amanda whispered, “You sound like him.””
“Come home.””
“I can’t.””
“Why?””
She hesitated.
Then we heard a sound on her end.
A door.
Amanda gasped.
Marcus stood.
“Amanda?””
Footsteps.
Then a man’s voice.
“Who are you talking to?””
Amanda whispered, “Michael.””
The line crackled.
Dad grabbed the phone.
“Amanda, tell us where you are.””
“I can’t.””
Michael’s voice came closer.
“Give me the phone.””
“No.””
“Amanda.””
“Stay away from me.””
Dad was already signaling Marcus to trace whatever information could lawfully be obtained and contact the police.
“Amanda,” Dad said, “listen to me. Get somewhere public.””
Michael shouted something we couldn’t understand.
Amanda screamed.
The phone hit something.
Lily burst into tears.
“Mom!””
We heard a struggle.
Not punches.
Furniture scraping.
Amanda breathing hard.
Then Michael’s voice.
“You ruined everything.””
Dad shouted into the phone.
“Michael!””
Silence.
Then Michael answered.
“Daniel.””
His voice was strangely calm.
Dad’s entire body stiffened.
“Don’t touch her.””
“I’m not touching anyone.””
“Put Amanda back on.””
“No.””
Marcus was already calling emergency services from another phone.
Michael laughed quietly.
“You think this is about forty thousand dollars?””
Dad looked at Marcus.
“What is it about?””
Michael didn’t answer.
“Michael.””
“You still haven’t read all of Rebecca’s trust.””
Thomas suddenly stood.
His face went pale.
Dad looked at him.
“What?””
Thomas rushed toward the binder.
Michael continued through the phone.
“Ask Bennett what happens if Ethan’s legal guardian dies before Ethan turns eighteen.””
Nobody moved.
Thomas flipped through the trust.
Faster.
Then stopped.
His face changed.
Dad whispered, “Thomas?””
Thomas looked up.
“The successor-control clause.””
“What does it say?””
Thomas swallowed.
“If you die before Ethan turns eighteen, management authority passes to the successor trustee Rebecca designated.””
Dad stared at him.
“Who?””
Thomas looked at the signature page.
Then at the phone.
May you like
His face drained of color.
“Michael Harris.””
