Chapter 5 - The Call I Finally Answered
Dad called again at 10:42 p.m. Tokyo time.
This time, I answered.
“Emily.”
His voice was lower now.
Controlled.
The voice he used in business meetings when he wanted everyone to believe nothing was wrong.
“Dad.”
“We need to stop this family group-chat nonsense.”
“I agree.”
“Good.”
“So tell me about Grandpa’s trust.”
Silence.
I stood beside the glass wall overlooking the city.
Not one word came through the phone.
I checked the screen to make sure the call hadn’t dropped.
“Dad?”
“Who told you?”
That was my answer.
Not what trust?
Not I don’t know what you mean.
Who told you?
I felt something inside me settle.
“Grandma.”
He exhaled through his nose.
“Your grandmother doesn’t understand the structure.”
“She understands six hundred thousand dollars.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Then make it simple.”
“Emily, these conversations should happen in person.”
“Why? So you can talk until I get tired and agree with you?”
“That’s disrespectful.”
“Trying to delay my access to my own trust is disrespectful.”
He went quiet again.
Then Mom’s voice appeared faintly in the background.
“She knows?”
I closed my eyes.
“Put me on speaker.”
“No.”
“Dad.”
“Emily, listen to me. Your grandfather created that trust when you girls were young. The terms were outdated. We were trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“Bad decisions.”
I looked around the penthouse I had paid for myself.
The trip had been booked with points and savings from five years of working in brand strategy. I had no credit-card debt. I had an emergency fund. I had never asked my parents for rent.
“Name one.”
He hesitated.
“One what?”
“One bad financial decision I’ve made.”
“That’s not the point.”
“It is exactly the point.”
Mom took the phone.
“We didn’t want money to change you.”
I laughed once.
“Vanessa got access, didn’t she?”
Nothing.
My heartbeat kicked hard.
“Mom?”
“She had circumstances.”
“What circumstances?”
“She was buying a condo.”
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
“Grandpa’s trust was split equally?”
“Yes.”
“And Vanessa already got hers?”
“It was an advance.”
“How much?”
“That is between Vanessa and—”
“How much?”
Mom snapped, “You don’t get to interrogate me.”
I almost shouted.
Instead I lowered my voice.
“That means it was a lot.”
Dad came back on.
“Emily, we can explain everything when you come home.”
“When did Vanessa get the money?”
“Last year.”
My hand went cold around the phone.
Last year.
Her lake house birthday.
Her new Range Rover.
The condo downtown she claimed she bought through “smart investing.”
“Did she get all of it?”
Dad said nothing.
“Dad.”
“No.”
“How much is left?”
Another pause.
Then he said, “That depends on how you define left.”
May you like
I stopped breathing for a second.
“What did you do?”
