Chapter 11 - DAD’S SECRET
Mom sat silently at the kitchen table the next morning.
I put coffee in front of her.
“Dad had a safe-deposit box?”
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
“What was inside?”
“A life-insurance settlement.”
“How much?”
“Two hundred sixty thousand dollars.”
I stared at her.
“Why didn’t I know?”
“Because it was mine.”
“I know.”
I softened my voice.
“I’m not asking because I wanted it.”
“I wanted to save it for you and Derek.”
“What happened?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“After you bought the house, I decided you had already done too much for me.”
“Mom…”
“I wanted Derek to have more when I died.”
Now I understood.
“You told him?”
“Two years ago.”
Right before he moved in.
My stomach tightened.
“How much is left?”
She looked down.
“I don’t know.”
Samuel arrived with a forensic accountant named Denise Cole.
Within three hours, we had the answer.
Almost nothing.
Derek had accessed Mom’s accounts using powers of attorney she didn’t fully understand.
Money had been transferred through several businesses.
One belonged to Derek.
One to Melissa.
One connected to Victor Kane.
Mom stared at the numbers.
“I gave him permission to pay bills.”
Denise nodded gently.
“That is not permission to empty your accounts.”
“I signed things.”
“Signing something because you were deceived doesn’t make what happened acceptable.”
Mom started crying.
“I raised him.”
That sentence destroyed me.
She wasn’t mourning the money.
She was mourning the son she thought she had.
Later that afternoon, detectives arrived.
They had reviewed the flash drive.
Forgery.
Identity theft.
Financial exploitation of an elderly person.
Possible conspiracy involving Kane.
Melissa had hired her own attorney and offered to cooperate.
Derek remained in custody after violating conditions of release by returning to the house.
Then Detective Alvarez showed me something.
A text exchange between Derek and Melissa.
Derek:
“She needs to go before Rachel gets back.”
Melissa:
“She won’t leave.”
Derek:
“Make it unbearable.”
My hands went cold.
Another message.
Melissa:
“She keeps asking about the bank statements.”
Derek:
“Take her phone if you have to.”
Then:
Melissa:
“She fell again.”
Derek:
“Good. Maybe she’ll finally agree to assisted living.”
I looked at the detective.
“Fell?”
“We’re still investigating.”
My stomach twisted.
“Was she pushed?”
“We don’t know yet.”
I went straight to Mom.
“Did you fall?”
She looked confused.
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
Her face changed.
That was my answer.
“What happened?”
She began shaking.
“Mom.”
“I was carrying laundry.”
“And?”
“Melissa was angry.”
“Did she push you?”
Mom cried.
“She didn’t mean for me to fall down all the steps.”
I closed my eyes.
Oh God.
“How badly were you hurt?”
“My hip hurt for weeks.”
“Did you see a doctor?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Derek said if I told anyone, they could put Melissa in jail.”
My voice cracked.
“She pushed you down stairs.”
“She apologized.”
“Mom.”
“She cried.”
“Mom!”
She flinched.
I stopped immediately.
I knelt beside her.
“I’m sorry.”
Tears ran down my face.
“I’m not angry at you.”
She whispered,
“I didn’t want to lose my family.”
I held her hands.
“You almost lost your life.”
The detective had heard enough.
Melissa was arrested that evening.
As officers led her away, she looked at me.
“I’m sorry.”
I said nothing.
She turned toward Mom.
“I really am.”
Mom looked at her for a long time.
Then said,
“I believe you feel sorry now.”
Melissa started crying.
Mom continued,
“But you weren’t sorry when I was afraid of you.”
The officers took her away.
That night, I thought the worst was finally over.
Then Samuel called.
His voice sounded urgent.
“Kane moved the foreclosure.”
“What?”
“He found a way to accelerate it.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
I stood.
“That’s impossible.”
“He’s trying to sell before we can stop him.”
“What do we do?”
May you like
Samuel paused.
“Tomorrow, we fight for the house.”
