Chapter 3: The Account Nobody Was Supposed to Find
I stood at the bottom of the stairs with one hand pressed against the wall.
The house had never felt so unfamiliar.
My father's footsteps sounded somewhere upstairs, followed by the soft click of a door. I couldn't tell whether Celeste knew I'd heard her conversation, and I was suddenly terrified that she might come down and find me standing there.
I hurried back to the dining room.
The birthday cake was still on the table. Six candles had gone out, and the remaining ones leaned sideways in the warm wax.
My phone lay beside the plate.
I picked it up and stared at the banking app again.
*$12.67.*
The number looked almost insulting now.
I opened the transaction history and began taking screenshots. I didn't know whether that would help, but I remembered something Dad had told me when I first opened the account.
“Keep your records, Nia. Money has a way of disappearing from memory when people start arguing about what happened.””
At the time, I'd laughed.
Now I took screenshots of every unfamiliar transaction I could see.
I didn't send them to anyone. I simply saved them.
Then I opened my messages and searched for the texts I'd exchanged with Celeste about the account.
There weren't many.
One from the previous spring read, Your dad and I are reviewing some family expenses. Don't be surprised if he asks you questions about your savings.
I had responded, Why would he ask me?
She'd written back, Because families need to work together.
At the time, I had assumed she was talking about budgeting.
Now the message made my skin prickle.
I heard footsteps.
Dad came back into the room alone.
“Where's Celeste?”” I asked.
“In the bedroom.””
“Is she coming back down?””
“I don't know.””
He pulled out the chair across from me and sat down.
For a moment, he looked older than forty-two. His short hair was slightly flattened on one side, and the crease between his eyebrows seemed deeper than usual.
I showed him the screenshots.
He studied them carefully.
“Good thinking,” he said.
“Keep those somewhere safe.””
“Dad, I heard her talking upstairs.””
His eyes lifted.
“What did she say?””
I hesitated.
I didn't want to repeat the words. Saying them aloud would make them real.
“She said there was another account.””
Dad became very still.
“What kind of account?””
“I don't know. She said you didn't know about it.””
He leaned back slowly.
“Did she say anything else?””
I swallowed.
“She said if you found out whose name was on it, you were finished.””
Dad stared at the table.
For several seconds, I could hear only the refrigerator and the faint ticking of the clock near the kitchen.
Then he stood and walked to the window.
“Marcus Brooks,” I whispered, “what does that mean?””
He didn't answer immediately.
Finally, he turned toward me.
“It means I need to find out what your stepmother has been doing.””
“Are you going to call the police?””
“I'm going to make sure we understand the facts first. Denise is preserving the company records. We'll have the financial transactions reviewed properly.””
He returned to the table and placed a hand over mine.
“But I need you to promise me something.””
“What?””
“If Celeste contacts you about money, passwords, or your account, you tell me. Don't send her anything. Don't sign anything. And don't let anyone convince you that asking questions makes you disloyal.””
I nodded.
He squeezed my hand.
“You have done nothing wrong.””
For the first time all afternoon, I felt like I could breathe.
Then his phone rang.
Denise's name appeared on the screen.
Dad answered immediately.
“Denise?””
I watched his face as he listened.
“What do you mean, a second account?””
My stomach tightened.
He walked toward the kitchen, lowering his voice, but I could still hear parts of the conversation.
“No, I never authorized that.””
A pause.
“Whose name?””
Another pause.
Dad closed his eyes.
“Send me the record. Don't speculate. Just send me the documentation.””
He ended the call and stood motionless.
“Dad?””
He turned toward me.
“Denise found a record connected to a second financial account.””
“The one Celeste mentioned?””
“Possibly.””
“Whose name is on it?””
He shook his head.
“She hasn't confirmed the account holder yet. The record needs to be verified.””
I stared at him.
“But if it's not yours, and it's not mine…”
I couldn't finish the sentence.
Dad looked toward the stairs.
“We aren't going to accuse anyone based on a partial record.””
He said it firmly, but his fingers had curled into a fist at his side.
Then a door opened upstairs.
Celeste appeared at the top of the staircase, no longer wearing her cheerful birthday expression. She had changed into a dark sweater, and her hair was tucked behind one ear.
“Marcus,” she called, “we need to talk privately.””
He didn't move.
“Then come down and talk.””
Her gaze shifted to me.
“Alone.””
“Nia stays,” Dad said.
Celeste gripped the banister.
“This is between husband and wife.””
“Not when it involves her savings.””
She descended slowly, each step measured. When she reached the dining room, she stopped beside the MacBook box.
For a moment, she looked at it as if she'd forgotten it was there.
Then she faced Dad.
“You're making a terrible mistake.””
“Tell me about the other account.””
Her expression changed.
It was quick, but I saw it.
The smallest flicker of fear.
“What other account?””
Dad stared at her.
“Don't do that.””
“I don't know what you're talking about.””
“Nia heard you upstairs.””
Celeste's eyes snapped toward me.
I felt my face grow hot.
“You were listening to my private conversation?””
“I was standing downstairs,” I replied.
“I heard you.””
“That's not the same thing.””
“Celeste,” Dad interrupted, “answer the question.””
She folded her arms.
“I was talking about a personal account. Everybody has personal accounts.””
“Denise found financial records that may connect to another account. Did you know about that?””
Celeste looked away.
“Lots of people have accounts.””
“Did you open one?””
She said nothing.
“Did you transfer company money into it?””
“Marcus, you don't understand how these businesses operate.””
“Then explain it to me.””
She walked to the sideboard, picked up a glass of water, and took a long drink.
Her hand trembled slightly when she set it down.
“You want to know the truth?”” she asked.
Dad waited.
“I was trying to protect this family.””
“From what?””
“From you making decisions that put everyone at risk.””
He stared at her.
“What decisions?””
“You invest in things without thinking about what happens if they fail. You put money into expansion. You take risks because you believe everything will work out.””
“My company has operated for fourteen years.””
“And you think that makes you invincible?””
“No. It makes me responsible for understanding where the money goes.””
Celeste laughed bitterly.
“You've always needed to be the hero, Marcus. The provider. The man who saves everybody.””
Dad's expression hardened.
“This isn't about my pride.””
“Everything is about your pride.””
“Did you transfer money into another account?””
She looked toward the staircase again.
I followed her gaze.
For one strange moment, I wondered whether there was someone else upstairs.
Someone who knew about the account.
Someone whose name appeared on the records.
Then Celeste looked back at Dad.
“I never intended for any of this to happen.””
It wasn't an answer.
Dad stepped closer to the table.
“Did you take the money?””
She pressed her lips together.
“Some of it was used for things the family needed.””
“That's still not an answer.””
“You don't know what I was dealing with!””
“Then tell me!””
Her voice broke.
“I was trying to fix a problem before it destroyed everything!””
Dad fell silent.
I felt a chill travel down my arms.
“What problem?”” I asked.
Celeste looked at me, and something in her expression softened for half a second.
Then it disappeared.
“Go to your room, Nia.””
“No.””
“Nia,” Dad said gently, “I need you to stay out of the argument, sweetheart.””
I looked at him.
“But she used my money.””
“I know.””
“And she said there's another account.””
“I know.””
“Then why do I have to leave?””
He had no answer that could make me feel better.
Finally, he pulled out the chair beside him.
“You can stay here. But let me handle the questions.””
I sat down reluctantly.
Celeste turned away and walked toward the kitchen.
Dad didn't follow her.
Instead, he picked up his phone and called Denise again.
“Have you received the account records?””
He listened.
“Good. Send them securely. And please make sure the reviewer examines the authorization history, not just the transfers.””
He ended the call and sat beside me.
Neither of us spoke.
A few minutes later, his phone chimed.
He opened the message Denise had sent.
I watched him read the first page.
Then the second.
His face changed so gradually that it frightened me more than if he had shouted.
He scrolled back to the top and enlarged a line on the screen.
“What is it?”” I whispered.
Dad didn't answer.
He turned the phone toward himself, reading the same information again as though the words might rearrange themselves into something less terrible.
Then he looked at me.
“Nia, I need you to be prepared for something.””
My heart began pounding.
“What?””
“The account record contains a name we weren't expecting.””
“Whose name?””
He stared at the screen.
“I need Denise to verify the documents before I tell you anything.””
I shook my head.
“Dad, please.””
He reached for my hand.
“I won't lie to you. But I won't accuse somebody without knowing the truth.””
Upstairs, a door slammed.
Celeste hurried down the staircase, holding her phone in one hand.
She stopped when she saw the screen in Dad's hand.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then she whispered, “You weren't supposed to get that.””
Dad rose slowly.
His eyes never left her face.
“What exactly wasn't I supposed to find?””
Celeste's phone slipped in her hand.
May you like
And when the name on the document finally registered with her, she took one step backward and whispered the words that changed everything.
“Marcus, please. You have to understand why I did it.””
