Chapter 4: The Lie She Couldn't Keep Straight
Vanessa reached for the bank statement again, but I snatched it off the hood before her fingers could touch the paper.
“Stop trying to take things from me,” I said.
She stared at me, her red-painted nails suspended in the air. Behind her, the silver and blue balloons knocked gently against the sports car's windshield. A few relatives had begun drifting toward the patio, pretending they hadn't heard the argument, but nobody had actually left.
My father stood between the driveway and the lawn, his navy polo darkened slightly with sweat. He looked older than he had an hour earlier.
“Everybody needs to go home,” Darius announced.
My aunt Rochelle, who had been watching from beside the buffet, folded her arms.
“Darius, I drove forty minutes to celebrate Marcus getting a car. Now I'm finding out your daughter's college fund is nearly empty. You think we're just going to pretend we didn't hear that?””
“Rochelle, this doesn't concern you,” Vanessa snapped.
“Then why did you bring all of us here to celebrate something you apparently couldn't afford?””
Vanessa's mouth fell open.
Marcus immediately stepped away from the driver's door.
“Can we not do this in front of everybody?”” he asked.
I turned toward him.
“You got a car worth tens of thousands of dollars from money you didn't earn, and now you're worried about embarrassment?””
His cheeks reddened.
“I didn't steal anything!””
“Then help me understand why my college fund paid for your down payment.””
“I already told you. I thought Dad was paying.””
“And you never asked how?””
Marcus looked at his mother.
That familiar glance was becoming impossible to ignore.
Vanessa grabbed her designer handbag from a nearby chair and pulled out her phone.
“This conversation is over,” she declared.
“Your father and I will handle the financial arrangements privately.””
I almost laughed.
“You keep saying that. What exactly are you planning to handle?””
She tapped rapidly at her screen.
“I'm calling our attorney.””
“Great. Ask him why my money was transferred into your private account.””
Her thumb stopped moving.
For the first time, I noticed that she wasn't simply angry. She was calculating. Every time I mentioned the sixty-three thousand dollars, her eyes darted toward my father as if she were waiting for him to intervene.
And every time, he remained silent.
I stepped closer to him.
“Dad, look at me.””
He raised his eyes reluctantly.
“Did you know about the wire transfer before it happened?””
His throat moved.
“Yes.””
The single word seemed to suck all the air out of the driveway.
I gripped the bank statement.
“You knew?””
“I knew the transfer was being made.””
“Why?””
He looked toward Vanessa.
“Your stepmother was dealing with a situation, and we believed moving the money was necessary.””
“What situation?””
“I can't explain it here.””
“You can explain it anywhere you want. You just don't want to.””
His face tightened.
“Nia, you have to understand that I was trying to keep our household together.””
I shook my head slowly.
“You let me believe my college fund was safe. You watched me work for years. You knew I was planning to finish school without loans.””
“I know.””
“You watched me turn down an apartment with my friends because I wanted to save enough money to pay tuition.””
“I know, sweetheart.””
“Then you gave my future away and called it a family decision.””
His eyes glistened.
But before he could respond, Vanessa stepped forward.
“Your father didn't give anything away. The money was moved for a reason.””
“Then tell me the reason.””
She lifted her chin.
“I'm not obligated to explain every financial decision to you.””
“It's my money!””
“It was an account under your father's management.””
“My name is on the account!””
“And he was the custodian!””
Her voice cracked through the driveway.
Several relatives exchanged looks.
I felt the words settle between us. Vanessa had finally stopped pretending this was a misunderstanding. She was arguing that because my father had access to the account, he had been entitled to do whatever he wanted with it.
My father rubbed his face.
“Vanessa, please stop.””
She swung toward him.
“Stop what? Protecting us? You were perfectly happy with this arrangement when we agreed to it.””
I stared at her.
We agreed to it.
Not my father alone.
Not a mistake.
An arrangement.
“What arrangement?”” I asked.
Vanessa's face changed.
Darius took a sharp breath.
“That's not what she meant,” he said quickly.
“Oh, really? Because she just said you both agreed to it.””
“She was speaking emotionally.””
“I'm speaking about eighty-five thousand dollars!””
My voice echoed against the side of the house.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Marcus walked around the front of the car and held the keys toward his mother.
“Take it back,” he said.
Vanessa stared at him.
“What?””
“The car. If this is what happened, take it back.””
“You have no idea what you're talking about.””
“Then explain it to me!””
She slapped the keys out of his hand.
They struck the pavement with a sharp metallic clatter.
“Stop acting like you're the victim here!”” she shouted.
Marcus stared at her, stunned.
“You told me Dad wanted to give me something special. You said the money was handled.””
“It was handled!””
“Then why are you scared of her phone?””
Vanessa went completely still.
My father closed his eyes.
I watched the three of them, and the shape of the betrayal became clearer. Marcus might have benefited from the car, but he was no longer the only person standing beside the lie.
Vanessa bent down, snatched the keys off the pavement, and shoved them into Marcus's chest.
“Get inside the house.””
“No.””
“Marcus!””
“Not until you tell me what happened.””
She looked at him as if she had never expected him to defy her.
Then she turned toward me.
“You want the truth? Fine. Your father authorized the transfer.
He signed off on everything. If you have a problem, take it up with him.””
I looked at my father.
He didn't deny it.
The silence between us was suddenly enormous.
I folded the bank statement and slipped it into my pocket.
“I'm going to the bank first thing Monday morning,” I said.
“I'm requesting every document connected to that account. Every withdrawal. Every transfer. Every signature.””
Vanessa's eyes widened.
“You wouldn't dare.””
I met her gaze.
“Try me.””
Then I walked toward the gate.
My father followed me across the lawn.
“Nia, wait.””
I kept moving.
“Please. Just give me five minutes.””
I stopped but didn't turn around.
He lowered his voice.
“If you start pulling records, you might discover things about this family that you can't undo.””
I turned slowly.
“Dad, you already did something I can't undo.””
His mouth trembled.
Before he could answer, Vanessa appeared behind him, holding her phone against her ear.
She was speaking too quietly for me to hear the entire conversation, but one sentence reached me clearly.
“No, she doesn't know about the other account.””
My father spun around.
“Vanessa!””
She stopped talking.
I stared at them.
“The other account?””
Vanessa lowered her phone.
May you like
My father looked as though the ground had opened beneath his feet.
And I realized that the eighty-five thousand dollars might not be the full extent of what my family had taken from me.
