Chapter 11 - Lily’s Money
I had never heard of a thirty-one-thousand-dollar college account.
Dad had to explain it twice.
My grandmother had created custodial investment accounts for every great-grandchild before she died. She told my parents to manage them until each child reached adulthood.
“Why didn’t I know?” I asked.
Dad looked at Mom.
She was standing ten feet away, arms folded around herself.
“Carol,” Dad said.
Mom wiped her eyes.
“It wasn’t supposed to be a big secret.”
“Then why was it a secret?”
She looked at the ambulance, not me.
“Because the accounts became complicated.”
I felt dread crawl up my back.
“How complicated?”
Dad stood.
“Rachel, I thought the accounts were untouched.”
I stared at Mom.
She finally looked at me.
“I borrowed from them.”
My voice went flat.
“From the children?”
“I moved money temporarily.”
“Whose money?”
She began crying again.
“Mostly Lily’s.”
The street disappeared around me.
“How much?”
“Rachel—”
“How much?”
“Twenty-four thousand.”
Dad staggered backward.
“You did what?”
Mom’s words came out in a rush.
“Vanessa needed help. Daniel said a contract payment was delayed. It was supposed to come back in ninety days.”
I actually felt calm.
That scared me.
“You took twenty-four thousand dollars from my daughter’s account to give Vanessa.”
“It was for her family.”
“So is Lily.”
“I know that.”
“No, you don’t.”
Mom stepped toward me.
“I was going to replace it.”
“With what? My credit card? Dad’s house? My property?”
Her face crumpled.
“I made a mistake.”
“A mistake is buying the wrong size shoes. You kept choosing Vanessa and calling the damage an accident.”
Dad turned away and pressed both hands against his head.
The detective was close enough to hear everything.
“Mrs. Morgan,” he said carefully, “we may need to speak with you about those accounts.”
Mom looked terrified.
I should have felt satisfied.
I didn’t.
I felt tired.
Vanessa climbed down from the ambulance.
“Mom took money from the kids?”
Mom glared at her.
“For you.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“No. Daniel told me you gave us your own savings.”
“You asked me to help!”
“I asked for ten thousand. Not twenty-four. Not from Lily.”
Mom’s voice rose.
“Don’t you dare act innocent.”
For the first time in my life, Mom and Vanessa were not standing on the same side.
It should have felt like justice.
Instead, it felt like a house finally admitting it was on fire.
The detective’s radio crackled.
He listened, then looked at me.
“Ms. Morgan, we have another issue.”
“What now?”
“Mr. Pierce’s accountant has contacted us through an attorney. He says there are records showing company money was transferred into personal accounts belonging to members of this family.”
Dad frowned.
“Whose accounts?”
May you like
The detective looked directly at my mother.
“Carol Morgan’s, for one.”
