Chapter 10 - The Child Who Took First
Police found Laura safe forty minutes later.
The shout had come from her friend’s husband arriving unexpectedly, not David.
For the first time in two days, I breathed normally.
Laura agreed to meet me at Margaret’s office.
She arrived without makeup, wearing yesterday’s sweater.
I barely recognized my oldest daughter.
She sat across from me and cried before anyone said a word.
“I’m sorry.”
I did not tell her it was okay.
It wasn’t.
“Tell me about Richard’s letter.”
She handed Margaret a photograph she had taken before David grabbed the envelope away.
The image showed the second page.
Richard’s handwriting filled half of it.
Margaret enlarged the photo.
I read the line twice.
Elena, if this becomes necessary, you should know that Michael has withdrawn funds from the family account without telling you.
My breath stopped.
Not Laura.
Michael.
My son who always claimed he wanted nothing from me.
I called him.
He refused twice, then answered.
“What?”
“Come to Margaret’s office.”
“No.”
“Richard knew about the withdrawals.”
Silence.
Laura covered her mouth.
Michael said, “Mom, that was years ago.”
“How much?”
“Not like David.”
“How much?”
He cursed.
“Forty-five thousand.”
Laura stared at me.
I closed my eyes.
“Why?”
“I was in trouble.”
“What kind?”
“Business debt.”
“You told me your company was doing well.”
“It is now.”
“Did Richard confront you?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“He made me pay it back.”
I opened my eyes.
“Did you?”
A pause.
“Most of it.”
Margaret wrote something down.
I asked, “Did you know about Laura’s power of attorney?”
“No.”
“Did you know David was planning to have me declared incompetent?”
“No.”
“Did you know about the lake house loan?”
“No.”
Then Michael said something I did not expect.
“But Fiona did.”
Laura looked up.
“What?”
Michael’s voice turned bitter.
“Our perfect little sister knew David was using the lake place for rentals. She helped him market it.”
I felt suddenly cold.
Fiona.
The youngest.
The one who sent heart emojis.
The one who always sounded sweet.
I opened her social media page.
There she was in a video posted three months earlier, standing on my dock.
Smiling into the camera.
“Welcome to one of central Texas’s best-kept luxury secrets.”
Then she turned the camera toward the house and said four words that made every person in the room go silent.
May you like
“My family owns this.”
