Chapter 12 - THE OTHER VICTIMS
There were seven.
Seven confirmed victims.
Three former coworkers.
Two old roommates.
One ex-boyfriend.
And me.
Lauren had used names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, employment records.
Anything she could access.
The total suspected fraud had climbed above $300,000.
Dad sat beside Mom when investigators interviewed the family.
He barely spoke.
When they finished, he took Mom outside.
I saw them arguing through the station window.
Later, Dad called me.
“I’m leaving your mother.”
My chest tightened.
“Dad.”
“I’m not doing this because she loved Lauren.”
He sounded exhausted.
“I’m doing it because she lied to me for twenty years.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“You don’t have to decide everything today.”
“I already decided years ago.”
His voice cracked.
“I just didn’t know it.”
Families don’t always break in one moment.
Sometimes the break happens slowly.
Quietly.
And one Christmas dinner simply reveals the cracks.
Two weeks later, Lauren was formally indicted on multiple fraud-related charges.
Her attorney contacted the prosecutor about a plea.
She also wanted one thing.
To speak with me.
I refused.
Then she sent a letter through her attorney.
I almost threw it away.
James said, “You don’t owe her a read.”
“I know.”
But I opened it.
Rachel,
You won. I hope you’re happy.
I laughed immediately.
Even facing prison, she was still keeping score.
She blamed Mom.
Dad.
Her old employer.
Me.
Near the end, she wrote:
I didn’t hurt Emma. You know I didn’t. I barely touched her. James made everything worse because he hates me.
I stopped reading.
James watched me.
“That bad?”
“No.”
I folded the letter.
“It’s exactly who she is.”
Then I noticed something handwritten at the bottom.
One extra sentence.
Ask Dad why he paid Eric Dalton ten thousand dollars before Christmas.
My head snapped up.
James frowned.
“What?”
I handed him the letter.
He read it.
Dad had told us he barely knew Eric.
But if Lauren was telling the truth about one thing, he had paid the man investigating her.
I called Dad.
He answered after four rings.
“Rachel.”
“Did you give Eric Dalton ten thousand dollars?”
Silence.
That was enough.
“Dad?”
He exhaled slowly.
“Yes.”
My stomach dropped.
“Why?”
His answer changed everything again.
“Because he came to me before Christmas and told me Lauren was stealing.”
“And you didn’t tell us?”
“No.”
“Why?”
May you like
Dad whispered:
“Because he also told me he believed she was planning something against you.”
