Chapter 7 - The Hidden Receipts
Dana retreated two steps, her back hitting the hallway wall. "You're all turning against me! Over what? Over a spoiled teenage girl who barely even talks to me!"
"She doesn't talk to you because you treat her like a second-class citizen in her own house!" Dad shouted. "Go upstairs, Dana."
"I am not going anywhere!"
"I said go upstairs!" Dad yelled, slamming his hand against the doorframe. "Take your things, go into the guest room, and stay there until I figure out what to do with you."
Dana let out a furious, choked sob, glared at me with pure hatred, and stormed up the stairs, her heavy footsteps shaking the ceiling above us. A few seconds later, a bedroom door slammed shut so hard that the wreath on our front door rattled.
The living room was quiet again, but the air felt lighter, like poison had just been drained from the room.
"Dad?" I whispered.
Dad walked over to me, dropped to his knees on the carpet, and pulled me into a fierce, tight hug. He was trembling. "I am so sorry, Nat. I am so, so sorry. I should have seen it. I should have paid more attention. I was working sixty hours a week trying to pay off the medical bills and the house repairs, and I thought... I thought she was taking care of things."
"It's okay, Dad," I choked out, burying my face in his shoulder.
"It is not okay," Grandma Ruth declared, coming over and patting Dad's back. "Adam, stand up. We need to look at your joint account right now. If she felt comfortable stealing four hundred dollars right under my nose, heaven knows what else she's been skimming from your paychecks."
Dad stood up, wiped his eyes, and grabbed his laptop. Mason sat quietly on the couch, watching with a mixture of fear and relief.
May you like
Dad logged into their primary joint checking and credit card portals. As the statements loaded on the screen, his face went completely white.
"Withdrawals," Dad muttered, his voice cracking. "Atm cash withdrawals every Friday for eight months. Two hundred dollars here. Three hundred dollars there. Over six thousand dollars gone from our emergency fund."
