Chapter 2: The Ten-Thousand-Dollar Secret
The following Saturday, I discovered exactly where my stepmother's money had been going.
It began with a delivery truck pulling into our driveway.
I was sitting on the living room carpet, sewing a loose button onto my school skirt, when two delivery workers carried enormous shopping bags through the front door.
Behind them came Madison, wearing a new pink tracksuit and holding a designer handbag.
“Careful with those!”” she called.
“The shoes are in the smaller boxes!””
Ethan appeared from the kitchen, tearing open a package before the workers had even left.
“Mom! Is this my new gaming headset?””
Vanessa emerged from the hallway wearing a silk robe.
“Yes, darling. And your new sneakers should arrive this afternoon.””
Madison squealed when she saw another bag.
“Oh my God! You actually got me the jacket!””
Vanessa smiled proudly.
“Of course. You deserve it, sweetheart.””
I lowered my sewing needle.
There were so many bags that they covered half the living room floor. Designer shoes. Jackets. Dresses.
Gaming accessories. Perfumes. Boxes of cosmetics.
I recognized the shopping bags from the mall near my school. Madison had shown me their window displays weeks earlier, pointing out a handbag that cost more than my father's first used car.
Now it sat in her lap.
Vanessa noticed me staring.
“What are you looking at, Lily?””
“Nothing.””
“Then stop sitting there with that miserable expression. You're ruining the atmosphere.””
Madison pulled a pair of white sneakers from a box.
“Mom, these are perfect! They're the ones I wanted!””
Ethan held up his headset.
“And you got the upgraded version!””
Vanessa kissed his forehead.
“My babies deserve the best.””
I looked down at the skirt in my lap. The thread had tangled around my finger, leaving a red mark.
I wondered what it would feel like to hear those words directed at me.
My father walked in from the garage carrying a toolbox.
He stopped dead when he saw the shopping bags.
“What is all this?””
Madison hugged her new jacket.
“Our shopping haul, Dad!””
“Shopping haul?””
Vanessa rose to greet him, but he held up his hand.
“Don't start. How much did you spend?””
She adjusted her robe.
“It's none of your business.””
He stared at the boxes.
“Then whose money paid for it?””
“Money I've been saving.””
My father gave a bitter laugh.
“Saving? I've been transferring money into our household account every month. You told me prices were rising and the children needed more for school.””
“They do need more for school!””
“Then explain why Ethan has a gaming headset that costs hundreds of dollars.””
Ethan's smile disappeared.
“Dad, Mom said—”
“Ethan, go upstairs,” Vanessa snapped.
“But—”
“Now!””
He grabbed his headset and disappeared into the hallway.
My father set the toolbox down.
“Vanessa, I'm asking you one last time. How much did you spend?””
She crossed her arms.
“Ten thousand dollars. There. Are you happy now?””
My father's expression hardened.
“Ten thousand dollars on clothes and accessories?””
“Not all of it was clothes. Some were things the children needed.””
Madison lifted her handbag.
“Dad, it's not like we bought anything unreasonable.””
He turned to her.
“How much did that bag cost?””
She hesitated.
“Four hundred and fifty dollars.””
“And the shoes?””
“Two hundred.””
“And the jacket?””
Madison's eyes shifted toward her mother.
“Three hundred and twenty.””
My father slowly nodded.
Then he looked at me.
“Lily, when was the last time you got a new pair of shoes?””
I felt everyone's attention turn toward me.
“Last Christmas,” I answered quietly.
“Which Christmas?””
I swallowed.
“Two years ago.””
The silence was immediate.
My sneakers had split near the toes. I had covered the holes with black marker so they wouldn't look as obvious, but rain still seeped through whenever I walked to school.
My father hadn't known.
He had been working long shifts at the construction management company he owned, believing that the money he sent home was providing equally for everyone.
Vanessa had made sure he never saw the details.
He walked over and crouched in front of me.
“Why didn't you tell me, sweetheart?””
“Because Mom said you were tired.””
I saw Vanessa's jaw tighten at the word Mom.
My father took my hands.
“You never have to protect an adult from the truth, Lily. Especially when that adult is hurting you.””
Vanessa stepped between us.
“Don't fill her head with nonsense! I have been raising her for six years!””
“And what exactly have you been doing with the money I gave you to raise her?””
“I fed her!””
“So did I pay for her food!””
“I put a roof over her head!””
“A roof I paid for!””
Her cheeks reddened.
“You're acting as though I stole from you!””
My father stared at the designer boxes.
“Did you?””
Vanessa went silent.
Then she grabbed her phone from the sofa.
“Fine. Since you think I'm such a terrible wife, perhaps you should see what your precious daughter has been doing behind your back.””
My stomach dropped.
“What are you talking about?”” I asked.
She tapped her screen and turned it toward my father.
It was a photograph of me standing outside the school office with my classmate Emily. In the picture, I was holding an envelope.
My father frowned.
“What's this?””
Vanessa smiled for the first time that afternoon.
“Ask your daughter why she has been taking money out of your desk.””
I stared at the photograph, confused.
“I haven't taken anything!””
“Really?”” Vanessa asked.
“Then why were you holding an envelope containing five hundred dollars?””
My father looked at me.
For one terrible second, I saw doubt in his eyes.
I wanted to explain, but the memory of that envelope made my blood run cold.
May you like
Because I knew exactly where it had come from.
And I knew Vanessa had deliberately left out the one detail that could explain everything.
