Chapter 5: The Truth Hidden in the Records
I barely slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, another memory came back.
The day my necklace disappeared.
The morning my laptop was gone.
The way Linda always found a reason why Tyler needed more.
A better phone.
Better clothes.
More expensive things.
And somehow, every time, someone else paid the price.
At seven in the morning, Dad was already dressed.
He sat at the dining table with a stack of papers.
I had never seen him look so serious.
“Dad?””
He looked up.
“I’m sorry I woke you.””
“I couldn’t sleep anyway.””
He pushed a folder toward me.
“I need to show you something.””
I opened it.
Inside were bank statements.
My hands became cold.
“What am I looking at?””
Dad pointed.
“Look at the dates.””
I followed his finger.
The first transaction was eight months earlier.
Then another.
Then another.
Small amounts.
Hundreds of dollars at a time.
My stomach turned.
“She took all this?””
Dad nodded.
“How much?””
“Almost four thousand dollars.””
I looked up.
“Four thousand?””
“Yes.””
I couldn’t believe it.
“How?””
Dad sighed.
“She figured out your account information.””
“But she wasn’t allowed.””
“I know.””
“Then how?””
Dad looked uncomfortable.
“She used my information.””
I froze.
“She used you?””
“She had access to some of my documents after we married.””
I stared at the papers.
The betrayal felt endless.
Dad rubbed his face.
“I should have protected you better.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Yes.””
His voice cracked slightly.
“I brought someone into your life and assumed they would love you the way I do.””
I looked at him.
“That wasn’t your fault.””
He looked at me.
“You shouldn’t have had to fight for a place in your own home.””
Those words made my eyes burn.
For years, I had wondered if I was being too sensitive.
Maybe Linda was right.
Maybe I was selfish.
Maybe I expected too much.
But now I knew.
I wasn’t imagining it.
Someone had been choosing against me.
Later that day, Dad and I went to the bank.
The manager sat across from us with a serious expression.
“I want to apologize, Mr. Carter.””
Dad nodded.
“What happens now?””
“We are investigating the withdrawals.””
I looked at the manager.
“Will she get in trouble?””
The manager paused.
“That depends on the investigation.””
Dad squeezed my hand under the table.
Not because he was afraid.
Because he knew I was overwhelmed.
After we left the bank, Dad took me to lunch.
It was strange.
A normal father-daughter lunch after something so painful.
We sat in a small restaurant near downtown.
For a while, we didn’t talk.
Then Dad smiled slightly.
“Remember when you were ten and you tried to cook dinner?””
I laughed.
“Oh no.””
“You burned pasta.””
“It wasn’t burned.””
“It was black.””
I smiled.
“You still ate it.””
“Of course.””
“Why?””
“Because you made it.””
That was my dad.
The man who saw effort before mistakes.
The man who never made me feel like I was too much.
When we got home, Linda was waiting outside.
My entire body tensed.
Dad parked the car.
“Stay here if you want.””
But I got out.
I needed to hear what she had to say.
Linda looked different.
She looked tired.
“David.””
Dad stopped.
“What are you doing here?””
“I need to talk.””
“No.””
She looked surprised.
“No?””
“No.””
She looked at me.
“Jasmine, please.””
I stayed quiet.
Linda took a breath.
“I know I hurt you.””
Dad didn’t respond.
“I know what I did was wrong.””
“Then why are you here?””
She looked down.
“Because I don’t want to lose my family.””
Dad stared at her.
“You lost it when you decided your son mattered and my daughter didn’t.””
Linda shook her head.
“That’s not fair.””
Dad’s eyes narrowed.
“Not fair?””
She stepped forward.
“I love Tyler. I love Jasmine too.””
I finally spoke.
“If you loved me, why did you keep taking from me?””
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
That silence answered everything.
Then Linda whispered:
“I was jealous.””
The confession surprised all of us.
Dad looked at her.
“Jealous?””
She nodded.
“When I married you, Jasmine already had your whole heart.””
I stared at her.
“She was your daughter.””
“I know.””
“Then why?””
Linda wiped her eyes.
“Because no matter what I did, I felt like I was second.””
Dad looked disappointed.
“Linda, you weren’t competing with my daughter.””
“I know that now.””
“But you didn’t act like it.””
She looked at me.
“I’m sorry.””
The apology sounded real.
And that made it harder.
Because part of me wanted to forgive her.
But another part remembered every time I felt unwanted.
Before I could answer, Dad’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“Hello?””
He listened.
Then his face went completely still.
“What?””
Linda noticed.
“What happened?””
Dad slowly lowered the phone.
The person on the other end had given him information none of us expected.
He looked directly at Linda.
“Your mother’s house.””
Linda frowned.
“What about it?””
Dad held the phone tightly.
“The bank found where the missing money went.””
Linda’s face lost color.
Dad continued:
“It wasn’t spent on Tyler.””
The silence was immediate.
“Then where did it go?”” I asked.
Dad looked at Linda.
And the answer shocked all of us.
May you like
Because the money she stole from me…
was used to hide a secret she never wanted anyone to discover.
