Brenda took the money, the letter said. Forty-one thousand two hundred dollars over eighteen months. She was desperate, Thomas. Her mortgage was in default, and she begged me to help her cover the tracks.
I rubbed my left ring finger, the gold band feeling cold against my skin. Emily had always been the protector in her family, the older sister who smoothed over every rough edge. But this was not a simple family loan.
When the auditors started asking questions, I panic-signed the transfer authorizations, Emily had written. I made it look like the discrepancies came from Sarah’s desk. Sarah was new, and she did not have the access logs to prove otherwise. I let them fire her.
I sat very still, my hands folding themselves neatly in my lap. The hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen was the only sound in the house.
