CHAPTER 2: THE ACCOUNT WAS EMPTY
CHAPTER 2: THE ACCOUNT WAS EMPTY
I left the dinner immediately.
My husband, Trevor, followed me outside.
"Grace, wait."
I spun around.
"What does she mean?"
He looked confused.
"I don't know."
"Don't lie to me."
The words came out sharper than I intended.
Because suddenly...
Everything felt wrong.
The nervous looks.
The awkward silence.
The way everyone seemed to know something.
When we got home, I opened my laptop.
My hands were shaking.
The college account appeared on screen.
Account balance:
$127.43
I stopped breathing.
No.
No.
No.
Fifteen years of savings.
Gone.
Nearly three hundred thousand dollars.
Gone.
I refreshed the page.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Nothing changed.
The money was still gone.
I felt sick.
Trevor stared at the screen.
His face turned white.
"What happened?"
That was when I knew.
He wasn't acting.
He truly didn't know.
Which meant...
There was only one person left.
The next morning I marched into my mother's house.
Monica opened the door.
The smile disappeared from her face immediately.
"Grace—"
"Where is it?"
She looked confused.
"Where's what?"
I shoved printed bank statements into her hands.
"My daughter's money."
The color drained from her face.
Got you.
Monica took a step back.
Then another.
Then another.
Exactly like someone caught.
"Grace, I can explain."
My heart shattered.
Because innocent people don't say that.
Innocent people say:
I didn't do it.
Monica looked like she might cry.
"Please."
"Where is the money?"
Before she could answer, a voice came from behind her.
Our mother.
And the moment she appeared...
I knew the truth was worse than I imagined.
May you like
Because she looked guilty too.
END OF CHAPTER 2
