Dad's expression hardened.
“Find work?””
Jordan climbed out reluctantly.
“Dad, it's not a big deal.””
Dad looked at him.
“Then why are you sitting in a car I bought for my daughter?””
Denise's smile trembled.
“You said it was for the children.””
“No.”” Dad held out his hand.
“I said it was for Maya.””
Jordan's eyes darted toward his mother.
She shook her head almost imperceptibly.
Dad saw it.
“Key. Now.””
Jordan placed the keys in his father's palm.
Dad crossed the driveway and stopped in front of me. He gently opened my clenched hand and placed the keys inside.
“This is yours, sweetheart. I promised you.””
My eyes filled with tears.
“Dad, she said—”
“I know what she said.””
He glanced at the bus pass.
Then he turned to Denise.
“Give that to me.””
She held it out with a brittle laugh.
“It's just a practical alternative, Marcus. No need to make this dramatic.””
Dad took the pass, looked at it for a moment, and placed it back in her hand.
“The bus stop is on the corner.””
Denise's face turned pale.
“You cannot be serious.””
“I am.””
“You're humiliating me in front of the children!””
Dad's voice dropped.
“You humiliated my daughter.””
Silence fell over the driveway.
Then Dad reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded bank statement.
“I came home early because the bank called me about an account discrepancy.””
Denise stopped moving.
Dad unfolded the paper.
“Maya, do you remember the college savings account I opened for you when you were little?””
I nodded slowly.
“Of course.””
His jaw tightened.
“Then you deserve to know why it no longer contains the money I put into it.””
He turned toward Denise.
“Almost twenty-eight thousand dollars is missing.””
Jordan's face went white.
And Denise, for the first time since she'd entered our lives, had absolutely nothing to say.
“Twenty-eight thousand dollars?”” I repeated.
The number sounded unreal.
My college savings account had been part of my life for as long as I could remember. Dad used to show me the statements on my birthday, explaining how every deposit brought me closer to a future where I wouldn't have to choose between buying textbooks and paying rent.
When I was little, I imagined the account as a giant glass jar filled with coins.
As I grew older, I understood what those deposits represented.
Dad's overtime shifts.
His skipped vacations.
The lunches he packed instead of buying food at work.
The money he'd saved by keeping his old pickup running long after its air conditioner stopped working.
And now he was telling me that twenty-eight thousand dollars had disappeared.
I stared at him.
“Dad, how?””
He held the statement tightly.
“That's what I'm trying to find out.””
Denise finally recovered her voice.
“This is a ridiculous conversation to have outside.””
“Then let's go inside,” Dad replied.
She reached for his arm.
“Marcus, you're tired. You've been working all day. We can discuss this privately after you've had dinner.””
He stepped away from her.
“I received a call from the bank at eleven this morning. They asked me to verify several transfers from Maya's education account. I told them I hadn't authorized any.””
Denise's lips parted.
Dad continued.
“They froze the remaining balance while they investigate. The account was supposed to hold more than thirty thousand dollars. There's barely enough left to cover one semester.””
My stomach lurched.
“One semester?””
He nodded.
I couldn't speak.
I'd already been accepted to a state university three hours away. I had a scholarship, but it didn't cover everything. Dad had assured me we would manage because he'd spent years preparing.
I'd believed him.
I'd built my entire future around that belief.
Jordan suddenly shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Maybe the bank made a mistake.””
Dad looked at him.
“That's possible. Which is why I want the records before I accuse anyone.””
Denise seized the opportunity.
“Exactly! Banks make mistakes all the time. Marcus, you know how complicated these accounts can be. Perhaps someone entered the wrong number.””
Dad studied her face.
“Then you won't mind helping me understand the transfers.””
“I have nothing to do with Maya's account.””
“You've been handling household paperwork for years.””
“Household paperwork is not the same as managing an investment account.””
“It's a savings account, Denise.””
She folded her arms.
“And I'm telling you I didn't touch it.””
Her voice was confident.
Too confident.
Dad looked down at the statement.
“Three transfers. One for eight thousand dollars. Another for ten thousand.
The last for ten thousand. All made within six weeks.””
I felt cold all over.
“When?””
He checked the page.
“Between February and March.””
February.
That was when I'd been working extra shifts to save money for the deposit on my dorm room.
I'd come home exhausted one evening and found Denise at the kitchen table with a stack of envelopes.
She'd asked whether Dad kept his financial documents in the filing cabinet.
I'd said I didn't know.
She'd smiled and told me I should learn more about household finances.
At the time, I'd thought she was trying to be helpful.
Now I wondered what she'd been doing at that table.
Dad moved toward the front door.
“Inside. All of us.””
Nobody argued.
Inside, the house smelled of roasted chicken and lemon cleaner. Denise had prepared dinner before leaving to collect Jordan's graduation party decorations, and the dining table was still set with her favorite white plates.
Dad placed the bank statement in the center.
“Sit down.””
Jordan dropped into a chair.
Denise remained standing.
“I don't appreciate being interrogated in my own home.””
Dad pulled out the chair opposite him.
“Then perhaps you can explain why my daughter's future has been put at risk.””
“I didn't do anything!””
“Sit down, Denise.””
She stared at him for several seconds before lowering herself into the chair.
I sat beside Dad, my fingers wrapped around the car keys.
He noticed my shaking hands and placed his palm over mine.
“I'm sorry, Maya.””
That nearly broke me.
“It's not your fault,” I whispered.
“I should have checked the account more often.””
“You trusted her.””
His face tightened.
“Yes. I did.””
Denise made a sharp sound.
“Oh, wonderful. So now I'm a criminal because the bank can't explain its own paperwork?””
Dad opened his phone.
“I called the bank back before I left work. They sent me copies of the transfer records.””
He slid several printed pages across the table.
“The money went into another account.””
Denise didn't touch the papers.
“Whose account?”” I asked.
Dad looked at the first page.
“The receiving account is registered under a name I recognize.””
He turned the paper toward us.
Jordan leaned forward.
Then he abruptly sat back.
I saw the name.
Jordan Bennett.
My stepbrother's full name.
For several seconds, the room was so quiet I could hear the refrigerator humming in the kitchen.
I turned toward Jordan.
“Why was my college money transferred into your account?””
He stared at the table.
“I don't know.””
“Don't know?”” I repeated.
“Maybe Mom used my account for something.””
Denise's chair scraped against the floor.
“Jordan, don't answer questions you don't understand.””
Dad's head snapped toward her.
“Why not?””
“Because you're putting words in his mouth!””
“Then let him speak for himself.””
Jordan rubbed the back of his neck.
“I didn't know it was Maya's money.””
I felt something inside me crack.
“You didn't notice twenty-eight thousand dollars appearing in your account?””
His face flushed.
“I didn't say it appeared all at once.””
“Then how did it happen?””
He looked at his mother.
She stared back at him with an expression I had seen before whenever he was about to disappoint her.
A warning.
Jordan swallowed.
“Mom said she was helping me.””
“Helping you do what?”” Dad asked.
“Get established.””
“Established where?””
Jordan shifted in his seat.
“I was looking at a car.””
I stared at him.
The white sedan outside suddenly seemed different.
Dad leaned forward.
“What car?””
Jordan's voice dropped.
“The one outside.””
I stopped breathing.
Dad slowly turned toward Denise.
“You bought that car with Maya's college money?””
“No!”” she snapped.
“That's not what happened.””
“Then explain it.””
“The car was purchased with money I had set aside for Jordan.””
Dad didn't blink.
“From where?””
“My savings.””
He held out his hand.
“Show me.””
She laughed sharply.
“You cannot demand access to my personal finances!””
“I'm not asking for your personal finances. I'm asking you to account for money that left my daughter's education account and ended up with your son.””
“Those transfers were temporary!””
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Everyone froze.
Dad's expression changed.
“Temporary?””
Denise pressed her lips together.
I leaned forward.
“You just said you didn't touch the account.””
“I said I didn't steal anything!””
“Then why did you call the transfers temporary?””
“Because your father is twisting my words!””
Dad stood.
“Where is the money now?””
Denise stood too.
“I moved it because Jordan needed help. He was struggling, and I didn't want him to fall behind in life while you poured every spare dollar into Maya's future.””
My mouth fell open.
“He wasn't struggling! He quit college!””
“Because he was unhappy!””