Chapter 4: The Account
Nobody moved.
Glass glittered across the hardwood floor.
David slowly lowered the phone.
“Daniel,” he said, “say that again.””
The voice on the other end remained calm.
“The account belonged to Victoria Carter.””
Emma stared at her stepmother.
Victoria's face had gone white.
David turned toward her.
“You told me that account was Emma's.””
Victoria opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
David raised the phone.
“Daniel, can you prove this?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
“I was the compliance officer who flagged the transfer.””
David's eyes narrowed.
“When?””
“Three years ago.””
“Why wasn't I contacted?””
“You were.””
David froze.
“What?””
“We sent notices to the email address attached to the account.””
David slowly looked at Victoria.
She looked away.
Daniel continued.
“Mr. Carter, I can't discuss the entire file over the phone, but the account was opened using identification connected to your household.””
David's voice became colder.
“Did my daughter ever have access to it?””
“No.””
“Did she receive any of the money?””
“No.””
Emma covered her mouth.
David asked, “Where did the money go?””
There was a pause.
“Most of it was transferred to an investment account.””
“Whose?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Your wife's.””
Victoria suddenly stepped forward.
“Give me the phone.””
David moved away.
“No.””
“David, this is private.””
“You made it private.””
“It was complicated.””
“You stole money meant for Emma.””
“I did not steal anything.””
“You just heard him.””
“I was protecting our family.””
David laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“By taking money I sent my daughter?””
Victoria's eyes flashed.
“You sent it without telling me.””
“I sent it to help her.””
“She didn't need it.””
“She was failing out of college.””
“She was irresponsible.””
Emma stood.
“Don't.””
Victoria turned.
“You think I wanted you to fail?””
“I think you didn't care.””
Victoria's face twisted.
“You have no idea what I did for this family.””
Emma stared at her.
“I know what you did for me.””
“What?””
“You made me feel like I was a guest in my own father's house.””
Victoria's voice rose.
“Because you never accepted me!””
Emma flinched.
David stepped forward.
“Lower your voice.””
“No.””
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
“I married you, David. I moved into this house. I helped raise her. I gave up years of my life, and she walked in whenever she wanted and expected everything to revolve around her.””
Emma whispered, “I never asked for that.””
“You didn't have to.””
David looked at Victoria.
“You were jealous.””
Victoria shook her head.
“I was lonely.””
The admission silenced everyone.
Victoria wiped her cheek.
“I watched you light up every time Emma called. Every holiday became about Emma. Every weekend. Every decision.””
“She is my daughter.””
“I know.””
“So you punished her.””
“I set boundaries.””
“You took her money.””
“I invested it.””
“For yourself.””
“For the family!””
David's voice thundered.
“Stop calling it the family when you mean yourself!””
Victoria went quiet.
Emma looked down at the broken glass.
Then David's phone buzzed.
Daniel had sent a document.
David opened it.
His face changed again.
“What?””
Emma looked at him.
“What is it?””
He didn't answer.
He scrolled.
Then he looked at Victoria.
“There's more.””
Victoria closed her eyes.
David read slowly.
“The account received three transfers.””
He looked at Emma.
“One from me.””
He scrolled.
“One from your grandmother.””
Emma frowned.
“My grandmother?””
“She sent you money for college.””
“I never got that either.””
David's breathing grew heavier.
“And one from your mother's life insurance account.””
Emma stared at him.
“My mom's?””
David nodded.
Victoria said quietly, “David…”
He turned.
“How much?””
She said nothing.
“How much, Victoria?””
“I don't remember.””
“You don't remember?””
“It was years ago.””
David held up the phone.
“The total was eighty-six thousand dollars.””
Emma sat down.
The room seemed to tilt.
“Eighty-six thousand?””
David nodded.
“You took my mother's money?””
Victoria's eyes filled.
“It was legally transferred.””
“By whom?””
“You.””
David stared at her.
“I never transferred it.””
“You signed the paperwork.””
“I never saw this paperwork.””
“It was in the files.””
“What files?””
Victoria didn't answer.
David walked toward the office.
Emma followed.
He opened the desk drawer and began pulling out folders.
Tax returns.
Insurance papers.
Mortgage statements.
Then he found a black folder.
He opened it.
Inside were copies of documents Emma had never seen.
David turned the first page.
His signature appeared at the bottom.
But the date was wrong.
He frowned.
“I didn't sign this.””
Victoria stood in the doorway.
“You did.””
“No.””
“You just don't remember.””
David looked closer.
His face became grim.
“The signature is scanned.””
Victoria's lips parted.
“What?””
“I never signed this by hand.””
Emma stepped closer.
“Dad…”
He turned the page.
There was another document.
Then another.
All bearing his signature.
All authorizing transfers.
All benefiting accounts connected to Victoria.
Emma whispered, “She forged your signature.””
Victoria shook her head.
“No.””
David looked at her.
“Then explain it.””
“I can.””
“Do it.””
She couldn't.
David picked up the phone again.
“Daniel?””
“Yes.””
“I need copies of every document related to these transfers.””
“We can send them.””
“And I need to know who submitted them.””
“I can give you the name.””
David waited.
Daniel said it.
David's face went completely blank.
Emma watched him.
“Dad?””
He lowered the phone.
“What name?””
David looked at Victoria.
Then at Emma.
“The person who submitted all the documents…”
His voice broke.
“…was your stepmother's sister.””
Victoria's eyes widened.
David continued.
“And apparently, she wasn't acting alone.””
Emma's stomach dropped.
“Who else?””
David looked at the final page.
At the bottom was another signature.
Not Victoria's.
Not her sister's.
Someone else's.
Someone whose name Emma recognized immediately.
She whispered it.
“No…”
David looked up.
“What?””
Emma pointed at the page.
“That can't be.””
“Why?””
“Because he's dead.””
The office door suddenly opened behind them.
May you like
Victoria's sister, Claire, stood there.
And she was holding a suitcase.
