Chapter 7 - THE VIDEO
Dad and I went to the shipping store while Tessa drove Mrs. Alvarez’s navy dress back to the shop for its final payment receipt. I still wore my graduation gown over it.
The clerk, Mr. Bell, knew Dad from warehouse deliveries. He showed us footage on a monitor behind the counter.
Denise entered at 5:48 p.m. wearing sunglasses. Mia followed a few steps behind her in my green jacket. At the counter, Denise handed over the envelope and wrote my name on the form.
Mia stood with her back to the camera, close enough to appear beside the signature if anyone took a quick look at a still image.
Dad leaned closer. “Why send us that photograph?”
Mr. Bell shook his head. “I didn’t. I called because the transaction seemed strange after your daughter said she hadn’t sent it.”
On the footage, Denise looked toward a display of packaging tape. Her hand disappeared briefly behind it. When she came back into view, she was holding her phone at an angle.
“She took a picture of Mia,” I said. “She wanted us to think Mia went alone.”
Dad asked Mr. Bell to preserve the footage and the original receipt. He agreed and gave us the transaction number.
In the car, Dad finally answered Denise’s calls.
“Where are you?” she demanded.
“At the shipping store.”
The silence on the other end told me she understood.
Dad said, “You sent the withdrawal.”
“I was protecting this family.”
“From what?”
“From Claire leaving and expecting us to pay for her life.”
“It’s a full scholarship.”
“She’ll still need money. And Mia has plans too.”
I heard a door close on Denise’s end. Then her voice dropped.
“You promised me when we married that both girls would have the same opportunities.”
“I did,” Dad said. “I never promised to take one away from Claire.”
Denise hung up.
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A second later, Mia called me.
“Mom’s blaming me for everything,” she said. Her voice sounded smaller than it had that morning. “You need to come home. There’s something in the basement you should see.”
