“I’m the custodian.”
There it was.
Not an explanation.
Not reassurance.
Control.
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“And I’m their father.”
“You gave me responsibility for managing them.”
“Managing them is not the same thing as refusing to show me what happened to the money.”
Rebecca’s gaze moved toward my purse.
I saw it.
So I reached inside.
Her face changed immediately.
“Don’t.”
Daniel looked at me.
“What do you have?”
I pulled out the folded statement.
Rebecca moved toward me.
Daniel took it first.
He opened it across the marble island.
For a few moments, he simply read.
Then his finger stopped.
“What’s Seacliff Resort?”
Rebecca said nothing.
Daniel looked at me.
I answered.
“It’s a luxury hotel.”
Ethan came closer.
Then his expression changed.
“The Cabo trip?”
Nobody spoke.
Last spring, the four of them had gone to Cabo for six days.
Daniel almost canceled the trip because money had been tight.
I remembered him telling me over the phone, “I hate disappointing the kids, Mom, but I can’t justify five thousand dollars for a vacation right now.”
Two days later, Rebecca had called me laughing.
“Problem solved. I’m a magician.”
She said she had used airline miles and credit-card points and had somehow gotten most of the hotel covered.
I had believed her.
Daniel had believed her.
Apparently, even Ethan had believed her.
Daniel looked at Rebecca.
“You told me the resort was covered with points.”
“It mostly was.”
“Then why is its name on Ethan’s account?”
“You’re twisting this.”
“I’m reading it.”
He dragged his finger farther down the page.
His face became still.
“Maison Interiors.”
I knew that name too.
Their trucks had been parked in Daniel’s driveway during the renovation.
Daniel looked around the kitchen again.
This time there was no uncertainty on his face.
Only disbelief.
“No.”
Rebecca swallowed.
“No what?” Ethan asked.
