Chapter 6: The Price of Protecting Felicity
I arrived at my father's house at six fifteen that evening.
Rain tapped against the windows, and the smell of roasted chicken drifted from the kitchen. Vanessa had set the dining table for four, but nobody had touched the food.
Felicity sat at the far end, scrolling through her phone.
My father stood beside the fireplace, holding a thick brown envelope.
He looked as though he had aged ten years since the wedding.
“Where's Amara?”” he asked.
“With a friend from work. She's staying overnight because I have an early shift.””
“Good,” he said.
“This conversation isn't appropriate for her.””
For once, I agreed with him.
I sat down.
“Tell me what you signed.””
Richard placed the envelope on the table.
Inside were copies of financial agreements, correspondence with a private lender, and documents related to the investment program Felicity had joined.
He sat opposite me.
“Three years ago, Felicity approached me with an opportunity. She said the company was offering selected employees a chance to invest in a private venture connected to one of its business partners.””
“Was it legitimate?””
“I believed it was. She showed me presentations and projected returns. She said the investment was carefully structured and that her position at the company made it a good opportunity.””
Felicity looked up.
“Because it was a good opportunity.””
My father didn't look at her.
“I agreed to guarantee part of the financing. I thought I was helping her establish financial independence.””
“How much?””
“Two hundred and forty thousand dollars in the original loan.””
“And the other guarantee?””
He rubbed his forehead.
“Last year, Felicity asked me to sign another agreement connected to a separate credit facility. She said it was needed to cover a temporary cash-flow problem in the investment account.””
My stomach tightened.
“How much was that?””
He hesitated.
“Eighty-five thousand.””
I stared at him.
“You guaranteed more than three hundred thousand dollars for her?””
“Not all of it is currently outstanding,” he replied quickly.
“Some payments have been made. The agreements are complicated.””
“But your house is collateral?””
He lowered his eyes.
“Under the second agreement, yes.””
The room seemed to grow smaller.
I understood now why he had begged me to protect Felicity's career. He wasn't simply worried about his daughter's reputation. He was terrified of losing the home he and Vanessa had lived in for more than a decade.
But that fear didn't explain everything.
I turned to Felicity.
“Why did you need another credit facility?””
She crossed her arms.
“My investment wasn't performing as expected. I needed time.””
“Time for what?””
“To recover the money.””
“From where?””
She looked away.
I leaned forward.
“Felicity, I work in a hospital. When someone tells me they need time, I ask what happened and what they're afraid of. I'm asking you the same question.””
She gave a bitter laugh.
“Don't pretend you're my therapist.””
“Then answer the question.””
Her expression hardened.
“I made a few mistakes. Happy?””
“No.””
“Some investments went badly. I used credit to cover the payments while I waited for the returns. Then my promotion was delayed, and everything became more complicated.””
“Did you tell Dad the truth?””
“Of course I told him the truth!””
Richard looked up sharply.
“Felicity.””
She stopped.
He placed a hand on the documents.
“You told me the investment was temporarily delayed. You never said you had borrowed additional money to make payments on the first loan.””
Felicity's cheeks flushed.
“I didn't want you to worry.””
“You used our house as collateral.””
“I was going to fix it!””
Her voice cracked.
For a brief moment, I saw something beneath the arrogance: panic.
But panic did not erase the choices she had made.
I turned back to my father.
“What does this have to do with my name being on a company account?””
Richard looked confused.
“Your name?””
I explained what Claire and Priya had shown me. I told him about the electronic signature and the message suggesting Felicity had attached my name to a transaction to avoid scrutiny.
My father went pale.
He turned toward Felicity.
“Is this true?””
She stood so quickly that her chair scraped across the floor.
“They're twisting everything! I used Jenna's name as an emergency contact. That's all.””
“Then why does the form contain a signature that looks like hers?”” I asked.
“I don't know!””
“You submitted the form.””
“Not every document in the system was submitted by me personally.””
“Then tell the investigators who submitted it.””
Felicity looked at me with open hatred.
“You're enjoying this.””
“No, I'm not.””
“You finally have something you can use against me, and you're going to destroy my life with it.””
I felt my voice rise.
“You used my identity without asking me. You may have blamed another employee for records she didn't authorize. You put Dad's house at risk. And somehow, you still think I'm the one destroying your life?””
Vanessa stepped between us.
“Everyone needs to calm down. Felicity is frightened, and your father is under enormous stress.””
I turned toward her.
“Then why did nobody think about the consequences before signing those agreements?””
Vanessa's face tightened.
“Because we were trying to help her succeed.””
“And what about me?””
The question escaped before I could stop it.
“What about the years I worked nights, raised Amara alone, and never asked this family for money? When my car broke down, I paid for the repairs myself. When Amara needed dental work, I took extra shifts. When I was exhausted, I still got up and made her breakfast.””
My throat burned.
“Did any of you ever worry that I might lose everything?””
Nobody answered.
I looked at my father.
“You told me I had no idea what the family had sacrificed for me. What exactly have I received from this family besides criticism?””
Richard's eyes filled with tears.
“Jenna, that's not fair.””
“Neither is any of this.””
For the first time, he didn't argue.
He looked down at the papers, his hands trembling slightly.
“I thought I was helping my daughter,” he whispered.
“You were helping Felicity. But you were also allowing her to believe that someone would always clean up her mistakes.””
Felicity grabbed her handbag.
“I'm done with this conversation.””
“Sit down,” my father said.
She stared at him.
“What?””
“Sit down. We aren't finished.””
The authority in his voice surprised all of us.
Felicity slowly lowered the bag.
Richard turned to me.
“I need you to understand something. I never intended to put your identity at risk. If she used your information without permission, I want it investigated.””
Felicity's head snapped toward him.
“Dad!””
He raised his hand.
“No. I have spent years trying to protect you from embarrassment, from failure, and from the consequences of decisions you made yourself. I can't keep doing that.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You're choosing her over me?””
“I'm choosing the truth.””
For once, Felicity had no clever response.
Then my phone rang.
Claire Wilson.
I answered and put the call on speaker after asking permission.
“Jenna, I'm sorry to contact you in the evening. We've completed an initial review of the authorization records, and there's a significant development.””
Everyone at the table went still.
“What did you find?”” I asked.
“The electronic signature on the beneficiary form was submitted through a workstation assigned to your sister's department. We haven't established who physically used the workstation, but the access logs are consistent with a submission made under Felicity's credentials.””
Felicity shook her head violently.
“That proves nothing!””
Claire continued.
“We've also located an earlier version of the disputed client report. The original file contains different figures from the version submitted for approval. The revision history indicates that changes were made after the report was sent back for clarification.””
My father stared at Felicity.
“Did you alter the report?””
“I corrected errors!””
“Were the changes authorized?”” Claire asked.
Felicity said nothing.
“Ms. Bennett, we are not asking you to answer that question on this call. You will have an opportunity to respond through the formal process.””
Claire paused.
“There is one additional issue. The audit trail indicates that the employee credentials associated with the final submission belonged to Olivia Grant, but the document was modified from a different workstation shortly before submission.””
I gripped the phone.
“So Olivia may have been blamed for something she didn't do?””
“That is one possibility under investigation.””
The call ended a few minutes later.
For several seconds, no one moved.
Then Felicity turned toward me.
“You have to tell them you misunderstood the account. You have to tell them I would never deliberately hurt anyone.””
I stared at her.
“I can't tell them something I don't know to be true.””
“You're my sister!””
“Yes.””
The word came out quietly.
“And I'm your sister when you need someone to lie for you. I'm your sister when you need money, an excuse, or a person to blame. But when I needed you to stop humiliating my daughter, you couldn't even do that.””
Tears slipped down her face.
“I never meant for things to get this bad.””
“Then tell the truth.””
She shook her head.
“You don't understand. If the investigation finds that I deliberately altered those records, I'll lose everything.””
I thought of Olivia, sitting alone in a coffee shop, terrified she would lose her job because she had refused to approve a questionable report.
I thought of Amara asking why people laughed at us.
And I thought of my father, who had risked his home because he couldn't bear to watch Felicity fail.
“Maybe,” I said.
“But the truth is still the truth, even when it costs you something.””
Felicity covered her face.
My father sat motionless, staring at the papers that had turned his home into a source of fear.
I gathered my handbag.
“Jenna,” he said quietly, “please don't abandon us.””
I looked at him.
“I'm not abandoning you, Dad. I'm refusing to carry something I didn't break.””
I walked toward the door.
Behind me, Felicity began to cry harder.
For a moment, every instinct I had urged me to turn around, comfort her, and promise that everything would be all right.
But I had learned something from working in the emergency room.
You could hold someone's hand through a crisis without pretending their choices had no consequences.
And you could love someone without letting them hurt you.
As I stepped outside, my phone vibrated again.
This time, it was a message from Silas Montgomery himself.
Jenna, I need to speak with you tomorrow morning. We've discovered a connection between the disputed account, your sister's investment arrangement, and a transaction that may have affected the company itself.
A second message appeared.
There is also a document bearing your name that could change the direction of the entire investigation.
I stared at the screen, cold rain gathering on my coat.
May you like
Because if Felicity had used my identity to conceal something from her own employer, the question was no longer simply whether she would lose her job.
The question was what she had done—and who else had helped her do it.
