Chapter 5 - The Baby Fund Was Missing
I didn’t sleep.
At six in the morning, after my mother and sisters finally stopped shouting and locked themselves in their rooms, I opened my laptop at the kitchen table.
Emily’s hospital papers sat beside me.
No stress.
I almost laughed.
Then I checked our savings account.
The baby fund was lower than it should have been.
Not by a little.
By $4,800.
At first, I thought exhaustion was making me read it wrong.
I refreshed the page.
Same number.
My heart began to pound.
The baby fund was where we kept money for the crib, medical copays, maternity leave, diapers, emergency formula, and the first month after our son arrived. Emily had treated that account like holy ground. She clipped coupons for groceries so we wouldn’t touch it.
I opened the transaction history.
Online purchase. Phone payment. Beauty supply store. Car repair. Food delivery. Cash transfer.
Brittany.
Kayla.
Lily.
Then one bigger transfer.
Teresa Miller.
I sat back slowly.
The account required two-factor authentication.
My phone.
Unless someone had access to Emily’s old tablet, the one she used for recipes and baby registries, the one usually charging in the kitchen.
My hands curled into fists.
At 7:15, Brittany walked out in leggings and slippers, yawning like nothing had happened.
“Where’s Mom?” I asked.
“Asleep.”
“Get her.”
She glanced at the laptop. Her face changed.
“Ethan—”
“Get her.”
Ten minutes later, all four of them stood in front of me.
I turned the laptop around.
“Which one of you stole from the baby fund?”
Lily’s eyes filled immediately.
Kayla looked at Brittany.
Brittany looked at Mom.
Teresa crossed her arms. “Watch your tone.”
“My son’s money is missing.”
“Our family needed help.”
Emily appeared in the hallway, one hand on her belly, pale and frightened. “Ethan?”
I stood. “Go back to bed.”
“No.” Her voice was soft, but firm. “I want to hear this.”
Mom’s eyes flicked toward her. “This is exactly what I mean. She’s always hovering, always making herself the victim.”
Emily’s face crumpled.
I pointed at the screen. “You took almost five thousand dollars.”
Brittany snapped, “You act like we spent it on drugs. My phone was going to get shut off.”
Kayla said, “My car needed brakes.”
Lily whispered, “Mom said it was okay.”
I looked at Teresa.
She didn’t deny it.
“The baby isn’t even here yet,” she said coldly. “Your sisters needed help now.”
The room went silent.
Emily’s hand tightened over her stomach.
I heard myself ask, very quietly, “How did you get into the account?”
Teresa lifted her chin.
“I used the tablet.”
May you like
The twist hadn’t arrived yet.
But the first door to it had opened.
