Chapter 6 - Cut Off
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The senior officer took the bank statement from my trembling hands and examined it under his flashlight.
“Sir,” the officer said, looking at Daniel. “Is this your son’s trust account?”
Daniel wiped a hand over his face, looking exhausted and broken.
“Yes,” Daniel whispered.
“And who authorized these withdrawals?” the officer asked, pointing at a long column of three-thousand, five-thousand, and ten-thousand-dollar transfers over the past eighteen months.
Daniel remained silent.
“I asked you a question, sir,” the officer warned, his voice turning stern. “Who made these withdrawals?”
“I did,” Daniel admitted softly.
Victoria pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a frustrated groan.
“Daniel, stop talking to them!” she hissed.
“What was I supposed to do, Victoria?” Daniel spat back, turning on her for the first time all night. “They have the statement!”
“You didn't have to confess in the middle of the driveway like an idiot!” Victoria yelled, completely dropping her polite persona.
The officers exchanged a heavy look. The second officer leaned back into the truck window to speak with Ethan.
“Ethan,” the second officer asked gently. “Did your father or stepmother tell you not to look at these papers?”
“Yes,” Ethan sobbed. “Dad said it was adult business. But tonight, I heard Victoria tell Dad that there was almost no money left in my college fund. I told them I was going to call my Grandpa Arthur and tell him.”
I felt a sickening knot tie itself in my stomach.
“And what happened when you said you were going to call me, Ethan?” I asked, my voice cracking.
Ethan pointed a trembling finger at Victoria.
“She took my phone out of my hands,” Ethan whimpered. “She deleted your number. She’s been taking my phone every weekend for months, Grandpa! Every time I tried to call you, she would lock it in her drawer!”
Suddenly, everything made horrific sense. All those missed calls over the summer. All those excuses Daniel gave me when I asked why Ethan didn't want to come over on weekends. All those unanswered text messages.
I had thought my grandson was growing distant as he entered his teenage years.
In reality, his stepmother had been isolating him so he couldn't tell me his father was stealing his inheritance.
May you like
Ethan’s voice broke into a terrified cry.
“She took my shoes and threw them in the mudroom. Then she dragged me to the front gate and said if I wanted to act like I didn't belong in this family... I could spend New Year’s outside of it.”
