Not embarrassment.
Not anger.
Fear.
Ethan stepped backward.
“What is this?” he demanded.
Margaret opened her folder.
“This is the second matter Judith asked me to investigate.”
I looked at my son.
“For the past six months,” I said, “money has been leaving my account through electronic transfers I did not authorize.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“What does that have to do with me?”
Mr. Reyes placed a sheet of paper on the nearest table.
“The transfers originated from a device registered to Mr. Ethan Miller.”
The room seemed to contract around us.
I heard someone whisper, “He stole from her?”
Ethan shook his head.
“That’s not true.”
Ms. Patel tapped her tablet.
“The transfers were disguised as medical payments, charitable donations, and home repairs. In total, they amount to $186,400.”
My knees weakened, but Margaret’s hand closed around my elbow.
I had suspected something was wrong when I noticed small withdrawals from an account Henry had left me. At first, I blamed banking errors. Then I found a $4,800 payment to a company that did not exist.
I had asked the bank to investigate.
The trail had led to Ethan.
He had used an old password I had once given him to help pay my property taxes.
The wedding payments were not the beginning.
They were the final test.
Ethan looked at me with outrage.
“You investigated me?”
“I gave you six months to tell me the truth.”
“You never asked!”
“I asked whether you needed help.”
He said nothing.
Brooke turned toward him.
“You told me your mother was rich and confused.”
Every head in the room turned.
Ethan’s eyes flashed.
“Brooke, shut up.”
My heart stopped.
Not because of the money.
Because she had said the words with the raw fury of someone betrayed.
“You told me she kept forgetting things,” Brooke continued. “You said she was paranoid. You said the house would eventually be yours.”
“That isn’t what I said.”
“You said the wedding would prove she was unstable. You said if she caused a scene, everyone would see it.”
A murmur rolled through the room.
I stared at Ethan.
