Chapter 5
I stared at him.
“You signed something without reading it?”
Ryan looked ashamed.
“It was family paperwork.”
Diane immediately interrupted.
“It was nothing.”
I turned toward her.
“Every time you say that, it becomes more important.”
Ryan rubbed his face.
“Mark came by the office.”
“What office?”
“Mine.”
“Your uncle brought trust documents to your job?”
“Yes.”
“What did he tell you?”
“That Grandpa’s trust needed updated beneficiary acknowledgments.”
“What did you sign?”
“I don't remember.”
“How many pages?”
“Maybe six.”
“Did you get copies?”
“I thought Mom had them.”
I looked at Diane.
She smiled faintly.
“I don't know what he's talking about.”
Ryan’s face hardened.
“Yes, you do.”
“No.”
“You told me to meet him.”
Silence.
I felt my stomach twist.
“Ryan.”
He looked at me.
“Did you ever sign anything with my name on it?”
His eyes widened.
“No.”
“Anything concerning my ownership?”
“No.”
“Anything about Noah?”
“No.”
He answered that one quickly.
Good.
But not good enough.
“Send Mark a message.”
“What?”
“Tell him we need copies of everything you signed.”
Diane laughed.
“Mark doesn't answer to you.”
I looked at Ryan.
“He does if Ryan asks.”
Ryan immediately texted.
I left with Noah before we got an answer.
Megan opened her door before I even reached the porch.
She was my older sister by four years.
A middle-school principal.
The kind of woman who could silence a room just by raising one eyebrow.
She looked at Noah.
Then Buddy.
Then me.
“Inside.”
Noah ran straight toward the guest room with Buddy.
Megan watched until he disappeared down the hallway.
Then she turned.
“What happened?”
“Everything.”
“That specific?”
“Ryan tried to surrender Buddy.”
Her eyes widened.
“What?”
“Diane threatened Noah with no dinner if he brought Buddy inside.”
Megan’s expression changed instantly.
“Where is she?”
“At my house.”
“You mean where should I go to get arrested?”
Despite myself, I laughed.
Then I started crying.
Megan hugged me.
“Okay.”
“Tell me.”
So I did.
The shelter.
Diane selling her condo.
Ryan promising she could stay.
The recording.
The mysterious home equity line.
The trust.
Uncle Mark.
By the end, Megan was staring at me like I had described a different family.
“Why didn't you tell me about the lawyer?”
“I didn't want you worrying.”
“That is literally my job as your sister.”
“I know.”
“How bad did Diane’s custody comment scare you?”
“Enough to pay someone to investigate our finances.”
Megan sat beside me.
“Did they find anything else besides the credit line?”
“Yes.”
I had not told Ryan yet.
Partly because I had not understood it.
Now I pulled up the report on my phone.
“There were payments.”
“What payments?”
“Monthly transfers from Ryan’s personal account.”
“To who?”
“A company called DKM Property Services.”
Megan frowned.
“What is that?”
“I don't know.”
“How much?”
“Three thousand a month.”
Her eyes widened.
“For how long?”
“Almost two years.”
“That's seventy-two thousand dollars.”
“I know.”
“Did Ryan hide an apartment?”
The possibility punched me in the chest.
“I don't know.”
Megan softened.
“Sorry.”
“No.”
“It crossed my mind too.”
“Do you think he’s cheating?”
“I didn't until today.”
“That is not an answer.”
“I genuinely don't know.”
Ryan worked in commercial sales.
He traveled.
Stayed late.
Attended dinners.
There were endless opportunities.
But I had never seen the signs.
Then again, I had not seen the signs that he was secretly planning to get rid of Buddy.
What else had I missed?
My phone rang.
Ryan.
I stared at it.
Megan said, “Answer.”
“Why?”
“Because if he is calling to confess to another hidden trust, I want entertainment.”
“Megan.”
She took my hand.
“Because you need information.”
I answered.
“Hello?”
“Are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“Is Noah okay?”
“He’s with Buddy.”
Ryan exhaled.
“Good.”
“Did Diane leave?”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“She says she has nowhere to go.”
“That isn't true.”
“You know somewhere?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Her sister Susan lives forty minutes away.”
Ryan was quiet.
“I forgot.”
“Diane didn’t.”
“Probably not.”
“Did you cancel the shelter appointment?”
“Yes.”
My shoulders relaxed slightly.
“I called them.”
“They apologized.”
“They said Mom told them Buddy had bitten Noah.”
I stopped breathing.
“What?”
Ryan’s voice cracked.
“I never told them that.”
“Who did?”
“They said the online form listed aggression toward a child.”
My hands started shaking.
Buddy had never bitten Noah.
Not once.
“Did you complete the online form?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“Mom.”
I closed my eyes.
“How did she access your email?”
“I don't know.”
“Ryan.”
“I don't.”
“Did you give her your password?”
“A long time ago.”
“For what?”
“She helped me print tax documents when my laptop broke.”
“And you never changed it?”
Silence.
I almost screamed.
“So your mother can read your email.”
“I already changed the password.”
“She could have been reading it for years.”
“I know.”
“Bank messages.”
“Yes.”
“Mortgage statements.”
“Yes.”
“Messages from me.”
His silence told me he understood the scale of it.
“Emily, I’m sorry.”
“Did Mark answer?”
“No.”
“Did you call him?”
“Yes.”
“Nothing.”
I looked at Megan.
She was listening.
“Ryan.”
“What?”
“There is something else in the financial report.”
He went quiet.
“What?”
“DKM Property Services.”
Silence.
My heart started pounding.
He knew the name.
I could hear it.
“What is it?”
“Emily.”
“What is it?”
He sighed.
“Mom’s company.”
I stared at the wall.
“What?”
“She created it years ago.”
“What does it do?”
“Property management.”
“Why are you sending her three thousand dollars every month?”
Megan’s eyes widened.
Ryan went silent.
“Answer me.”
“It’s repayment.”
“For what?”
“Money she gave me.”
“How much?”
“About sixty thousand.”
“When?”
“Before Noah was born.”
“Why?”
“Business debt.”
I closed my eyes.
Ryan had started a small marketing consultancy before taking his corporate job.
It failed after eighteen months.
He told me he paid off the remaining debt himself.
Of course that was not true.
“You told me everything was paid.”
“It was.”
“With Diane’s money.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I was embarrassed.”
“So you've been secretly repaying her three thousand a month.”
“Yes.”
“For almost two years?”
“Yes.”
“That is more than sixty thousand.”
Silence.
“How much do you actually owe?”
“I don't know.”
“Ryan.”
“She added interest.”
My mouth fell open.
“Your mother charged you interest?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“I don't know the exact amount.”
“Do you have a written loan agreement?”
“No.”
“Then why are you still paying?”
“Because she says I owe her.”
Megan mouthed, This is insane.
I agreed.
“Why is it coming from your personal account?”
“So you wouldn't see it.”
There it was.
At least he was finally honest.
“Where did your personal account money come from?”
“My commission bonuses.”
“Which you told me were going into retirement.”
He stayed silent.
I felt sick.
“How much is in retirement?”
“Emily.”
“How much?”
“Less than I told you.”
I closed my eyes.
I was suddenly too tired to be angry.
“How much less?”
“About forty thousand.”
“You told me there was one hundred fifteen.”
“There was supposed to be.”
“So your mother has been receiving the difference?”
“Yes.”
Megan stood and walked into the kitchen.
She was too angry to sit.
I asked, “Did Diane pressure you?”
“Yes.”
“Did she threaten you?”
“Not exactly.”
“What did she say?”
“That if I stopped paying, she’d make sure you knew about the original debt.”
I laughed bitterly.
“That was her threat?”
“Yes.”
“Ryan, I would have been upset for maybe a week.”
“I know that now.”
“No.”
“You knew then.”
He went quiet.
“You were more afraid of me knowing you once failed at a business than you were of secretly draining our savings.”
“I know.”
“Stop saying that.”
“I don’t know what else to say.”
“Say why your mother has power over you.”
Silence.
Then his voice changed.
“She knows something about Dad.”
I frowned.
“Your father?”
Ryan’s father, Thomas, had died when Ryan was sixteen.
Heart attack.
At least that was what I had been told.
“What about him?”
Ryan breathed slowly.
“Mom says he left debts.”
“What kind?”
“I don’t know.”
“And?”
“She says Grandpa’s trust was partly used to cover them.”
“What does that have to do with you?”
“I don't know.”
“Ryan.”
“Because she says if the trust is audited, we could lose the house.”
My stomach tightened.
“Can that happen?”
“I thought she was exaggerating.”
“You thought?”
“Until today.”
“Why today?”
“Because I found an email.”
“What email?”
“From Mark.”
My pulse jumped.
“When?”
“Ten minutes ago.”
“What does it say?”
Ryan went quiet.
“Read it.”
He did.
Ryan,
We need to speak immediately.
Do not discuss the trust with Emily until I explain the original property conditions.
Your mother should not have opened the credit line without my approval.
But that is not our biggest problem.
I sat forward.
“What is the biggest problem?”
Ryan continued reading.
The trust’s legal counsel contacted me this afternoon.
Someone requested an emergency distribution of $250,000 using Noah’s beneficiary account.
I stopped breathing.
Megan stared at me.
“Noah has a beneficiary account?”
I asked.
Ryan whispered.
“I didn’t know.”
“Who requested the money?”
“The email doesn’t say.”
“Call Mark again.”
“I have.”
“Where is Diane?”
“Upstairs packing.”
“Do not let her leave with documents.”
“What?”
“Ryan, your mother threatened Noah.”
“She planned my divorce.”
“She opened credit against our home.”
“And now someone is trying to take a quarter million dollars from an account none of us knew belonged to our son.”
His voice hardened.
“You’re right.”
“Check her room.”
“Emily.”
“Check it.”
“What am I looking for?”
“Anything with Noah’s name.”
I heard Ryan walking.
A door opened.
“Mom?”
No answer.
“Mom?”
His breathing changed.
“What?”
I asked.
“She’s gone.”
My stomach dropped.
“What do you mean?”
“Her suitcase is gone.”
“Car?”
I heard him moving faster.
Then the front door opened.
“Her car is gone.”
Megan grabbed her keys.
“Call police,” she said.
I repeated it.
“Ryan, call the police.”
He hesitated.
“Emily, she’s my mother.”
I felt something inside me harden.
“And Noah is your son.”
Silence.
Then Ryan said quietly,
“You’re right.”
Before he could hang up, I heard his doorbell.
“Someone’s here.”
“Who?”
He walked to the door.
Then went silent.
“Ryan?”
No answer.
“Ryan?”
May you like
Finally, he whispered.
“It’s Uncle Mark.”
