Chapter 5: What My Mother Did
The room seemed to shrink.
I couldn't hear the clock anymore.
Couldn't hear the refrigerator humming in the kitchen.
All I could hear was my mother's voice repeating inside my head.
*I did.*
Tasha stared at her.
“You?””
Mom nodded.
Tears ran down her cheeks.
“I signed the first document.””
My chair scraped backward as I stood.
“Why?””
She looked at me.
“Because I thought I was protecting you.””
“By forging my signature?””
“I was desperate.””
“Desperate for what?””
She looked at Marcus.
He lowered his eyes.
That answer hurt more than anything she could have said.
Tasha stepped forward.
“Tell us everything.””
Mom sat down.
For the first time in my life, she looked small.
Not polished.
Not confident.
Not like the woman who hosted perfect birthday parties and smiled for neighbors.
Just tired.
“I found out about the trusts last year,” she said.
Tasha frowned.
“You didn't know before?””
“Your grandmother never told me about Maya's trust. She only told me she had set something aside for you.””
She looked at me.
“I thought it was a few thousand dollars.””
Evelyn corrected her.
“She left instructions with my firm.””
Mom nodded.
“I discovered the amount when I found the paperwork.””
I folded my arms.
“And then?””
Mom took a shaky breath.
“Marcus found out too.””
Tasha turned toward her father.
“How?””
“He went through my desk.””
Marcus suddenly spoke.
“That isn't what happened.””
Mom looked at him.
“You took the folder.””
“I needed to understand what your mother had done.””
“You took it.””
“I was trying to protect us.””
Tasha laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
Marcus looked at her.
“You think I wanted any of this?””
“You spent my mother's money.””
“I was going to put it back.””
“With what?””
He had no answer.
Mom continued.
“Marcus had debts.””
My stomach tightened.
“What kind?””
“Business debts.””
Evelyn corrected her.
“Personal debts too.””
Marcus glared at her.
“You don't know what you're talking about.””
“I reviewed the records.””
She placed several statements on the table.
“Credit cards. Private loans. Gambling losses.””
Tasha stared.
“Gambling?””
Marcus shook his head.
“That was years ago.””
“How much?”” I asked.
He didn't answer.
Evelyn did.
“More than seventy thousand dollars.””
Tasha looked sick.
“And you used my mother's money to pay it?””
Marcus slammed his palm against the table.
“I was going to replace every dollar!””
“You stole it,” Tasha whispered.
“I borrowed it.””
“You stole it.””
Marcus's voice rose.
“You have no idea what I sacrificed for this family!””
Tasha flinched.
I stepped between them.
“Don't yell at her.””
Marcus pointed at me.
“This is because of you.””
The room froze.
“What?”” I asked.
“If your grandmother hadn't created that trust—”
“You wouldn't have had money to steal?””
His face twisted.
“You think everything is that simple.””
“No,” I said.
“I think you made it simple.””
Evelyn closed her folder.
“There is another matter.””
Nobody responded.
She looked at Mom.
“You told me you signed the first document to protect Maya.””
Mom nodded.
“What exactly did you authorize?””
Mom began crying again.
“I transferred temporary control.””
“Of Maya's trust?””
“Yes.””
“To Marcus?””
“No.””
“To yourself?””
Mom nodded.
“Then what happened?””
Mom looked at Marcus.
“He pressured me.””
Marcus shook his head.
“I didn't pressure you.””
“You threatened to leave.””
“I told you I was done living like this.””
“You said you'd take Maya with you.””
Marcus stared at her.
“I said I would leave.””
“You knew I couldn't support two children alone.””
Tasha whispered, “So you gave him access.””
Mom nodded.
“I thought I could control it.””
Evelyn looked at me.
“She couldn't.””
My mother covered her face.
“I made a terrible mistake.””
I wanted to hate her.
Part of me did.
But another part remembered every time she'd held my hand when I was sick.
Every time she'd sat beside my bed during thunderstorms.
Every time she'd told me I was safe.
How could those memories coexist with this?
I sat down.
“Mom.””
She lowered her hands.
“Why did you buy me the car?””
She stared at me.
“I didn't know about the car until yesterday.””
I frowned.
“What?””
Marcus went completely still.
Mom looked at him.
“You told me you were going to use the money for the house.””
He said nothing.
“You told me the trust would cover the mortgage.””
Still nothing.
“Then this morning I saw the Highlander.””
Her voice cracked.
“I realized what he'd done.””
Tasha stared at her father.
“So the birthday party was a lie.””
Marcus finally spoke.
“It wasn't a lie.””
“Then what was it?””
He looked at me.
“A distraction.””
The word landed like a slap.
“A distraction from what?””
He reached into his pocket.
Slowly, he pulled out a key.
Not a car key.
A small brass key.
He placed it on the table.
Evelyn immediately recognized it.
“Where did you get that?””
Marcus smiled for the first time.
“Your firm still has the old records vault?””
Evelyn's face changed.
“Yes.””
“I think it's time Maya saw what her grandmother left behind.””
Tasha looked at me.
“What records?””
Marcus pushed the key across the table.
“Ask your grandmother's lawyer.””
Evelyn didn't touch it.
Instead, she looked at me.
“There was one sealed file.””
“What does it contain?””
“We don't know.””
“Why not?””
“Because your grandmother ordered it opened only when you turned seventeen.””
My heart began pounding.
“I turned seventeen today.””
“Yes.””
Evelyn looked at the clock.
“And according to the instructions, the file must be opened tonight.””
Marcus stood.
“We're going.””
I stared at him.
“You're not coming.””
His smile disappeared.
“You don't understand.””
“No.””
I picked up the brass key.
“For the first time, I think I do.””
Evelyn stood beside me.
“We should leave now.””
Tasha grabbed her coat.
“I'm coming too.””
Marcus stepped toward the door.
“No.””
Tasha stared at him.
“Why?””
His expression changed.
For one brief second, I saw something that looked like fear.
May you like
Then he said quietly,
“Because if you open that file, you'll learn why your mother and I were never supposed to raise either of you.””
