Chapter 4 - THE MONEY WAS NEVER FOR AMY
The police separated everyone.
Amy sat with Frederick in the living room while paramedics checked him.
I stood in the dining room with an officer named Daniels.
He placed the documents on my table.
“Start from the beginning.”
So I did.
The $3,000.
The monthly transfers.
My mother’s claim that Amy needed help.
The fake texts.
The car keys.
The party.
Everything.
Daniels asked, “How much have you sent your mother?”
I did the math.
Eight months.
Twenty-four thousand dollars.
My stomach turned.
“That money was supposed to support my wife and child.”
Daniels nodded.
“Did your wife receive any of it?”
I looked toward Amy.
She shook her head.
“Not directly.”
“What did Mrs. Bradley tell you?”
Amy swallowed.
“She told me Connor was cutting back because we spent too much.”
I almost laughed.
It was such a brutal lie that laughter seemed easier than screaming.
Amy continued.
“She said I had a weekly grocery limit.”
“How much?” I asked.
“Eighty dollars.”
I stared at her.
For a household with a newborn.
“Eighty?”
“She said you made the rule.”
I sat down.
Daniels looked at me.
“Mr. Bradley?”
“I sent my mother three thousand dollars a month.”
Amy’s face collapsed.
“What?”
“Every month.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No, Connor.”
“I swear.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“She told me we were struggling.”
My chest hurt.
“She told me you needed help.”
Amy covered her mouth.
“I’ve been skipping meals.”
That sentence nearly broke me.
“Why?”
“To save money for Frederick’s formula.”
I stood up so fast the chair fell over.
Daniels put up a hand.
“Sir.”
“I’m okay.”
I wasn’t.
I walked into the kitchen.
The expensive seafood was still sitting outside.
There were at least six hundred dollars of liquor on the patio.
My mother had bought a new dress.
Betsy had designer sunglasses.
Mason wore boots I remembered him complaining he couldn’t afford.
My money.
All of it.
My phone buzzed.
It was my bank.
FRAUD ALERT.
A transfer attempt had been blocked.
$42,000.
Destination account: T. BRADLEY.
I stared at the screen.
Another notification arrived.
Password reset requested.
Then another.
Online access temporarily locked.
I showed Daniels.
His face tightened.
“When was this attempted?”
“Two minutes ago.”
He looked toward the backyard where officers were gathering names.
“Mrs. Bradley is in custody.”
“Then she didn’t do it.”
“No.”
He scanned the patio.
“Who else has access?”
I looked around.
Betsy.
Dean.
Three cousins.
Mason.
Then Amy whispered behind me.
“Connor.”
I turned.
She was holding Frederick.
Her face was pale.
“What?”
“Your mother has a key to your office.”
My blood went cold.
“My home office?”
Amy nodded.
“She goes in there all the time.”
The safe was in that office.
Inside it were tax records, passports, financial documents, and one emergency checkbook.
I ran upstairs.
The office door was open.
May you like
The safe was open too.
And the checkbook was gone.
