CHAPTER 12 – WHAT DAD HID
The email contained one attachment.
A bank statement.
It showed payments from Dad to Marcus.
Thousands of dollars.
At first, I couldn't understand.
Then doubt arrived.
Had Dad been involved?
Had we turned him into a hero because he was dead?
Daniel stared at the screen.
“No.”
“You don't know that.”
“Dad hated Marcus.”
“Then why was he paying him?”
Daniel pointed at the dates.
All payments happened during the final month of Dad's life.
Ortiz investigated.
The answer came quickly.
Dad wasn't paying Marcus.
Marcus had created invoices using a shell company.
He had been stealing from Dad.
The email was another attempt to poison us against him.
Police traced it.
Mom.
She had sent it through an automated service scheduled before her arrest.
Even behind bars, she was still trying to control the story.
But this time, Daniel didn't panic.
He deleted the email.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
Then he emptied the trash.
“Done.”
Something had changed in him.
Not magically.
He still startled at loud noises.
He still slept with the hallway light on.
Some days he barely spoke.
But he had begun making decisions.
His decisions.
He hired an attorney.
He rejected Mom's guardianship petition.
He requested an independent financial manager.
And when prosecutors asked whether he wanted to testify, Daniel said yes.
I tried to protect him.
Maybe too much.
“You don't have to.”
“I know.”
“They'll ask difficult questions.”
“I know.”
“Mom will be there.”
Daniel looked at me.
“I know.”
Then he said something Dad would have loved.
“Protecting me isn't deciding for me.”
I laughed.
Then cried.
“Dad told you that?”
“Letter.”
“Right.”
The trial began four months later.
Mom entered the courtroom wearing gray.
She looked smaller.
But when she saw Daniel, her expression became familiar.
Commanding.
Warning.
Daniel's fingers began tapping against his leg.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then he stopped.
The prosecutor called his name.
Daniel walked toward the witness stand.
Mom whispered as he passed.
“Don't do this to your mother.”
Daniel stopped.
The courtroom became silent.
He looked at her.
May you like
Then answered.
“You did it first.”
