Chapter 5: My Name on the Account
For several seconds, I couldn't understand what Derek had said.
An account.
In my name.
I looked at Arthur.
He wouldn't meet my eyes.
“Dad,” I said.
Nothing.
“Look at me.””
He slowly did.
“Is there an account in my name?””
His lips parted.
No answer.
“Arthur.””
“Yes.””
The word barely left his mouth.
I felt the room tilt.
“What account?””
“It was a savings account.””
“I have a savings account.””
“Not that one.””
My heart began pounding.
Jordan stepped closer.
“How long has it existed?””
Arthur rubbed his beard.
“A while.””
“How long?””
“About two years.””
I stared at him.
“Two years?””
“It was supposed to help you.””
“How?””
Arthur looked toward the window.
“I was putting money aside.””
“For me?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn't you tell me?””
He hesitated.
That hesitation told me everything.
Derek opened the folder again.
“The account was opened with your Social Security information.””
I felt cold.
“I never gave Dad permission to open an account in my name.””
Arthur's voice rose.
“I was your father.””
“That isn't permission.””
“I was protecting your future.””
“By using my identity?””
“I wasn't using your identity.””
Derek looked at him.
“You absolutely were.””
Arthur glared.
“Stay out of this.””
“I should've stayed out of it from the beginning.””
Jordan picked up the document.
“There's a phone number attached.””
He read it.
“That's not Maya's.””
I looked at Arthur.
“Whose number is it?””
He didn't answer.
Jordan's eyes narrowed.
“It's yours.””
My chest tightened.
I took the document.
The account information was unmistakable.
My full name.
My date of birth.
My address.
But Arthur's phone number.
His email.
His mailing address.
I looked at him as if I'd never seen him before.
“You opened a financial account using my identity.””
“I was going to transfer everything into your control.””
“When?””
“When things settled down.””
“What things?””
Arthur didn't respond.
Derek leaned against the table.
“Your father wasn't just moving money around.””
Arthur looked at him sharply.
“Derek.””
“You deserve to know.””
I turned toward Derek.
“Know what?””
Derek hesitated.
“Your father borrowed money from several people.””
Arthur's face darkened.
“I said I would repay them.””
“With what?”” Derek asked.
Arthur didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
“How much?””
Arthur stared at the floor.
“How much, Dad?””
“It's complicated.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“It isn't.””
I held up the hospital paperwork.
“You told me Grandma wasn't covered.””
I held up the forged authorization.
“You used my name.””
I pointed at the account statement.
“You moved money through an account I didn't know existed.””
Then I looked directly at him.
“How much money?””
Arthur swallowed.
“Forty-seven thousand.””
Rose gasped.
Jordan's face went blank.
I almost couldn't breathe.
“Forty-seven thousand dollars?””
Arthur nodded.
“How?””
“I had debts.””
“What kind of debts?””
“Business.””
“You don't own a business.””
“I invested in one.””
“When?””
“Last year.””
“With what money?””
He didn't answer.
Derek did.
“Your father's investment failed.””
Arthur shot him a furious look.
“And he borrowed from me to cover it.””
I turned toward Derek.
“You gave him money?””
“Yes.””
“How much?””
“Twenty-five thousand.””
“And he promised to repay you?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Six months ago.””
Arthur sank back into the chair.
“I was trying to keep everything together.””
“No,” I said.
My voice was strangely calm.
“You were trying to keep us from finding out.””
Arthur looked up.
“Maya…”
“No.””
I walked to the coffee table and put the documents into a neat stack.
“You watched me cry over losing my savings.””
“I didn't want you to worry.””
“You watched me cancel my apartment.””
Arthur flinched.
“You knew?””
“I knew everything.””
My voice cracked.
“You knew I had been saving for years.””
He lowered his head.
“And you still let me pay eighteen thousand dollars.””
“I thought I could replace it.””
“With what?””
“I had a plan.””
“What plan?””
Arthur didn't answer.
Then Jordan's phone chimed.
He looked at it.
His expression changed.
“What?”” I asked.
“I just got another email.””
“From the hospital?””
“No.””
He turned the screen toward us.
It was from the bank.
*NEW LOGIN DETECTED.*
Jordan frowned.
“I didn't log into anything.””
My blood ran cold.
“What's the account?””
He showed me.
It was the secret account in my name.
And beneath the alert was another message.
*Password changed successfully.*
I looked at Arthur.
“You changed the password?””
“No.””
“You just did.””
“I didn't.””
Jordan scrolled.
“There was a login from ten minutes ago.””
Derek stepped closer.
“That's impossible.””
“Why?””
“Because that account was frozen this morning.””
Everyone stared at him.
I whispered,
“Who unfroze it?””
Derek looked at the screen.
Then his face changed.
“The bank didn't.””
Arthur suddenly stood.
“Give me the phone.””
Jordan backed away.
“No.””
Arthur lunged forward.
Jordan stumbled into the sofa.
The phone fell onto the carpet.
The screen lit up.
A new notification appeared.
*TRANSFER PENDING: $47,000.00*
Rose screamed.
Arthur froze.
I looked at the notification.
Then at my father.
“Where is that money going?””
May you like
Arthur's eyes fixed on the screen.
And for the first time, he looked genuinely terrified.
