Chapter 3: The Secret Behind the Locked Door
Dad didn't go upstairs immediately.
He stood in front of the computer, staring at the deletion notice as though it were written in a language he had never seen before.
Then he clicked the security dashboard.
A new message appeared.
*Administrator account accessed remotely.*
“That's strange,” he murmured.
I wiped my face with the washcloth.
“What is it?””
Dad glanced at me.
“The camera system is connected to my account. Nobody should be able to delete the recordings without my password.””
Lily looked toward the stairs.
“Mom knows the password.””
Dad turned.
“What?””
“She asked me for it last month,” Lily said.
“She said she needed to fix something because the camera wasn't working.””
Dad rubbed his forehead.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
Lily shrank into herself.
“Because she said you were too busy to worry about it.””
He closed his eyes.
I watched the realization settle over him.
Nicole hadn't simply lied about the tablet.
She had deliberately taken control of the system that could expose her.
And now that the footage had surfaced, she was trying to erase everything else.
Dad grabbed his phone.
“I'm changing every password tonight.””
He looked at me.
“Emily, go sit down. I'll get you some ice.””
“I'm okay.””
“No, you're not.””
His voice cracked slightly.
“You don't have to pretend you're okay just because I'm here.””
That nearly broke me.
I had spent years pretending I was fine because it was easier than explaining why I felt like a stranger in my own house.
I sat at the kitchen table.
Dad filled a small towel with ice and handed it to me. Then he knelt beside my chair.
“I'm sorry,” he said.
I stared at the towel.
“You believed her.””
“I know.””
“Even when you saw my face.””
He looked down.
“I know.””
I pressed the ice against my cheek.
“Do you know how many times she's blamed me for things Madison did?””
Dad didn't answer.
“The missing money from your desk. The broken lamp. The messages she said I sent her friends.
Every time, she said I was jealous. Every time, you told me to be more understanding.””
His face tightened.
“Emily—”
“I tried, Dad. I really did.””
My voice shook.
“I thought if I stopped arguing, she'd stop hating me.””
He reached for my hand.
I let him take it, but I couldn't look at him.
“She doesn't hate you,” he said quietly.
“She—”
He stopped.
Maybe he realized that he didn't know what Nicole felt.
Maybe he finally understood that defending her had become a habit, one he had mistaken for fairness.
“I don't know how to fix this,” he admitted.
For the first time in years, Dad sounded less like the man who could solve anything and more like the father I had missed.
“You can start by believing me,” I whispered.
He squeezed my hand.
“I will.””
A sharp sound came from upstairs.
Something heavy had fallen.
Lily flinched.
Dad stood.
“Stay here. Both of you.””
He started toward the staircase, but Lily grabbed his sleeve.
“Dad, don't go in there yet.””
He looked down at her.
“Why not?””
She hesitated.
Then she glanced at me.
“There's something else you need to know.””
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“What else?”” Dad asked.
Lily twisted the sleeve of her cardigan between her fingers.
“Mom wasn't just angry about the tablet.””
Dad crouched in front of her.
“Tell me what you mean.””
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
“She was talking to Madison last night. They thought I was asleep.””
“What did you hear?””
Lily swallowed.
“Mom said Emily was going to ruin everything.””
I frowned.
“Ruin what?””
“I don't know. But Madison asked if you could really make Mom leave.””
My heart began to pound.
Dad went very still.
“What did Nicole say?””
Lily looked at me.
“She said she had a plan.””
A cold feeling crept across my shoulders.
“What kind of plan?””
Lily shook her head.
“I didn't hear everything. They went into the office and closed the door.””
Dad stood slowly.
His expression had changed from guilt to something darker.
“Did you hear anything else?””
Lily nodded.
“Mom said that if Emily found out what was in the blue folder, everything would fall apart.””
I stared at her.
“What blue folder?””
“I don't know.””
Dad's face had gone pale.
For a moment, he looked as if he might say something.
Then he forced a smile.
“It's probably nothing. Nicole keeps all sorts of paperwork in the office.””
But his voice lacked conviction.
I noticed it immediately.
“Dad?””
He looked at me.
“What is it?””
“Do you know what she's talking about?””
He opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
That was the first time I realized there was something my father wasn't telling me.
The blue folder became impossible to ignore.
While Dad worked on securing the camera system, I went upstairs to my room. I needed to be alone, even if only for a few minutes.
My cheek had swollen enough that I could see the outline of Nicole's hand in the bathroom mirror.
I stood there staring at my reflection.
The red marks were already beginning to darken.
I touched them lightly.
A memory surfaced: my mother brushing my hair before school, her fingers gentle against my scalp.
“Never let anyone convince you that being loved means you have to accept being hurt,” she'd told me once.
I had been twelve when she died.
I wished I could ask her what to do now.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Madison appeared.
*Madison:* You need to stop making Mom look crazy.
I stared at the screen.
Another message arrived.
*Madison:* She only slapped you because you were disrespectful.
I typed a response, deleted it, then typed another.
*Me:* I didn't break your tablet.
The reply came almost instantly.
*Madison:* I know.
I stopped breathing for a second.
Then I read it again.
*Me:* What?
The typing indicator appeared and disappeared several times.
Finally, another message arrived.
*Madison:* Just stay out of it. You don't know everything.
I called her.
She rejected the call.
I tried again.
This time, she answered.
“What do you want?”” she demanded.
I closed my bedroom door.
“Why did you tell Mom I broke your tablet?””
“I didn't tell her anything.””
“Madison, I watched the video.””
Silence.
Then she said, “You shouldn't have done that.””
“Why?””
“Because now everything's going to get worse.””
“For whom?””
She didn't answer.
I gripped the phone tighter.
“Madison, did you know Mom was going to blame me?””
A long pause followed.
Then she whispered, “She said Dad would never kick us out if he thought you were the problem.””
My stomach dropped.
“What?””
“She said you were almost eighteen, and you could move out if you didn't like living here.””
I sat on the edge of my bed.
Madison continued, speaking quickly now.
“Mom said if Dad started thinking you were dangerous or unstable, he'd stop believing you. She said you were the reason he never had enough money, because he kept paying for your school stuff and your activities.””
“That isn't true.””
“I know.””
“Then why did you go along with it?””
Her breathing became uneven.
“Because she's my mom!””
The words came out like a sob.
I closed my eyes.
For one brief moment, I could hear how frightened she was.
“Madison,” I said quietly, “I'm not trying to take your mother away from you.””
“You don't understand.””
“Then explain it to me.””
She was silent for so long that I thought she'd hung up.
Finally, she spoke.
“Mom said if Dad ever found out about the money, we'd all lose everything.””
My heart lurched.
“What money?””
“I can't tell you.””
“Madison—”
“I have to go.””
“Wait!””
But the line went dead.
I lowered the phone.
Money.
The blue folder.
A plan to make Dad believe I was unstable.
None of it made sense yet, but the pieces were beginning to fit together in a way I didn't like.
I went downstairs.
Dad was still in the living room, typing on his laptop. Lily sat beside him, drawing quietly in a notebook.
“Dad,” I said.
He looked up.
“What's wrong?””
“Do you have a blue folder in your office?””
His fingers stopped moving.
Lily raised her head.
Dad closed the laptop.
“Why are you asking?””
“Because Lily heard Nicole talking about it. She said there was something inside that would make everything fall apart.””
For several seconds, he didn't respond.
Then he stood and walked to the window.
“Emily, there are things about our finances that I've been handling privately.””
“Okay.””
“I didn't want to burden you with them.””
I stared at him.
“Are we in trouble?””
He turned.
“No. Not exactly.””
“Then what does that mean?””
He rubbed the back of his neck.
“After I married Nicole, I gave her access to some of our accounts so she could help manage household expenses. I work long hours, and she offered to handle the bills.””
I remembered Nicole's expensive handbags, the jewelry she wore to parties, and the way she complained about the cost of groceries while ordering delivery three times a week.
“Did she take money?””
Dad's silence answered before his words did.
“I'm not sure,” he said.
My chest tightened.
“How much?””
“I need to check everything.””
“Dad, how long have you suspected something was wrong?””
He looked away.
“Several months.””
I felt as though someone had punched me.
“Several months?””
“I found some transactions I couldn't explain. Nicole said she'd moved money between accounts to get better interest rates. I believed her, but I should have verified it.””
“And you didn't?””
“I thought I was protecting the family from unnecessary stress.””
I laughed once, without humor.
“By keeping everyone in the dark?””
His face fell.
“You're right.””
He walked toward the hallway.
“I'm going to get that folder.””
But before he could reach the office, the front door opened.
Nicole entered carrying two shopping bags.
Her face was composed again. Her hair was perfectly arranged, and she had reapplied her lipstick.
She looked at Dad, then at me.
“Oh,” she said pleasantly.
“Everyone's gathered together.””
She placed the bags on the table.
“I thought we could have a nice family dinner.””
Dad didn't move.
“Where have you been?””
“Shopping.””
“With what money?””
Her smile faltered.
“Excuse me?””
“I'm asking where the money came from.””
Nicole slowly set down her purse.
“Marcus, I don't appreciate being interrogated the moment I walk through the door.””
“Then answer the question.””
She looked at me.
Then at Lily.
Then back at Dad.
A brittle smile appeared on her face.
“I see. Emily has been filling your head with stories.””
“No,” Dad said.
“I've been looking at our accounts.””
For the first time, Nicole had no immediate answer.
Her gaze shifted toward the hallway.
Toward the office.
Toward the place where the blue folder was kept.
Then she said something that made my stomach turn.
“If you're going to start digging through old paperwork, Marcus, you should probably know what your daughter has been hiding from you.””
Dad went rigid.
“What are you talking about?””
Nicole looked directly at me.
“Ask Emily why she never told you about the letters from the bank.””
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Because I had never received any letters from the bank.
And from the expression on my father's face, I realized he was beginning to wonder whether Nicole had forged something in my name.
But the truth was even worse.
The blue folder didn't contain evidence that I had done something wrong.
May you like
It contained evidence that someone had been preparing to make me look guilty long before the tablet ever shattered.
And Nicole had just revealed that she knew exactly where to find it.
