Chapter 5: The Money That Was Supposed to Protect Maya
Renee reached for the phone.
Darius pulled it away.
“Don't.””
“Let me see that message.””
“Why?””
“Because someone is trying to destroy our marriage!””
“Then why does the message mention money?””
She swallowed.
“I don't know.””
Darius turned the screen toward her.
“Someone knows about these documents. Someone knows about the school withdrawal. Someone knows something about you that they think I should discover.””
“You're letting a stranger manipulate you.””
“Then tell me the truth before I have to hear it from someone else.””
Renee looked toward the infant, who had begun fussing in his seat. She picked him up and pressed him against her shoulder.
“I need to feed him.””
“The baby has nothing to do with this conversation.””
“He's hungry!””
“Then take care of him. But we're not pretending this didn't happen.””
Renee carried the infant to the nearby high chair and checked his bottle. Her hands trembled so badly that the cap slipped from her fingers and rolled across the counter.
Maya bent to retrieve it.
Renee snatched it away.
“Don't touch that!””
Maya recoiled.
Darius immediately stepped closer.
“Renee, that's enough.””
The stepmother stared at him, breathing hard.
“Everything I do is wrong to you now.””
“No. What you did to Maya was wrong before I knew about any of this.””
Darius picked up the documents and arranged them into a neat stack.
“I want you to explain the money.””
Renee lowered herself into a chair.
“There was an account.””
“What account?””
“A savings account.””
“Whose savings?””
She pressed her lips together.
Darius waited.
Finally, she whispered, “Maya's.””
The little girl looked up.
“My money?””
Darius turned toward her.
“What money, sweetheart?””
Maya rubbed her eyes.
“Grandma's money.””
Darius felt the air leave his lungs.
His mother, Lorraine, had died three years earlier. Maya had been devastated. She had spent weeks sleeping with the knitted blanket her grandmother had made for her, and Darius had promised that he would keep her memories alive.
Before she died, Lorraine had set aside money for Maya's education.
Darius had handled the original arrangements himself, placing the funds in a restricted account intended to help pay for school and future educational expenses.
He looked back at Renee.
“You told me that account was secure.””
“It was.””
“Then why is somebody asking what happened to the money?””
Renee's eyes filled.
“I borrowed some.””
Darius stared at her.
“How much?””
She looked down at the table.
“Renee. How much?””
“Forty thousand dollars.””
Maya made a small, confused sound.
Darius gripped the back of the chair.
“Forty thousand?””
“I was going to put it back.””
“When?””
“When things got better.””
“What things?””
Renee's eyes flashed with anger.
“You have no idea how expensive this household is! The baby needed things. There were bills. I had expenses you never even noticed because you were too busy at work!””
“You had access to our household account.””
“It wasn't enough!””
“Then you should have talked to me.””
“You would have said no!””
“Because it wasn't your money to take!””
Maya began crying quietly.
Darius crouched beside her.
“Sweetheart, listen to me. Whatever happened with that account is an adult problem. You didn't cause it, and you are not responsible for fixing it.””
“Is Grandma's money gone?”” Maya whispered.
Darius struggled to answer honestly without frightening her further.
“I don't know yet. But I'm going to find out.””
He stood and faced Renee.
“How did you access the account?””
“I was helping with the paperwork.””
“What paperwork?””
“You gave me permission to organize family documents. I found the account information while sorting the files.””
“That isn't permission to transfer the money.””
“I know.””
“Did you make the transfers yourself?””
Renee looked away.
Darius took out his phone.
“I'm contacting the bank.””
“Darius, please. Don't do this.””
He stopped dialing.
“Why?””
“Because if you call them, they'll freeze everything. They'll start asking questions. They'll make it impossible to put the money back.””
“Have you already tried to put it back?””
Silence.
Darius stared at her.
“How much is left?””
Renee's shoulders began to shake.
“Almost nothing.””
Maya pressed herself against her father's side.
He wrapped one arm around her while keeping the phone in his other hand.
“I'm calling the bank,” he said.
“And I'm contacting the attorney. Whatever happened, we're going to handle it properly.””
Renee rose abruptly.
“You can't do that to me!””
“I'm not doing anything to you. I'm finding out what happened to my daughter's money.””
“You'll ruin this family!””
“You have already put this family in danger.””
She grabbed the school withdrawal form and crumpled it in her fist.
“Fine! You want the truth? I didn't take that money for myself!””
Darius held out his hand.
“Put the document down.””
Renee threw it onto the island.
“I was trying to save us!””
“From what?””
Her eyes darted toward the living room.
Darius followed her gaze.
“What are you looking at?””
“Nothing.””
He walked toward the sofa, where his work bag had been resting earlier. The envelope had come from the law firm, but now he wondered what other papers might have been hidden among the household records.
Renee hurried after him.
“Darius, don't go through my things.””
“Then tell me what I'm going to find.””
He opened the side compartment of his work bag and discovered a small stack of bank statements that did not belong to him.
They were addressed to Renee.
He pulled them out.
The first showed several transfers from Maya's education account. The second listed payments to a company called Reed Family Consulting.
Darius recognized the surname.
Marcus Reed.
The man who had attempted to collect Maya from school.
His fingers tightened around the paper.
“Why were you sending money to Marcus Reed?””
Renee stopped behind him.
“I can explain.””
“Then explain.””
“He was helping me arrange something.””
“What?””
She began to cry.
“I thought I could fix everything before you found out.””
Darius examined the latest statement.
A transfer had been made just two days earlier. It was larger than the others.
At the bottom of the page was a note referencing an outstanding obligation.
He read the amount twice.
Then he turned toward Renee.
“Who do you owe money to?””
She covered her mouth.
For several seconds, the only sound in the kitchen was the infant's restless breathing.
Finally, Renee whispered, “I didn't borrow the money, Darius.””
He stared at her.
“What do you mean?””
“I didn't borrow it from the bank.””
She reached into the pocket of her burgundy blouse and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
Her fingers shook as she handed it to him.
On the page was a handwritten demand for payment, followed by a deadline.
At the bottom was a name.
Marcus Reed.
Darius looked up.
“What did you do with his money?””
May you like
Renee began sobbing.
And before she could answer, someone knocked three times on the front door.
