My Stepmother Bought Me a MacBook With My College Savings—Then Dad Discovered the $68,420 Mystery

Dad didn't sleep that night.

I knew because I woke at two in the morning and found a thin line of light beneath the office door.

The house was quiet except for the occasional creak of the floorboards and the low murmur of his voice. Every so often, I heard the soft tapping of a keyboard.

I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, trying not to imagine what might be on the other side of that door.

Derek.

I had heard the name years earlier, when I was still young enough to sit on the kitchen counter while Dad cooked pancakes.

I'd asked why he never invited certain people from his past to family gatherings.

Dad had paused with the spatula in his hand.

“Some people make choices that hurt others, Nia. You can forgive someone without letting them near your money or your peace.””

I'd asked whether Derek was one of those people.

Dad had simply said, “Especially Derek.””

I never asked again.

Now his name was connected to the money that had disappeared from my college account and to the company transactions Denise was investigating.

At seven the next morning, I found Dad sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of untouched coffee.

He looked up when I entered.

“Morning, baby.””

“Did you find anything?””

He glanced toward the staircase.

“Some old messages. Nothing conclusive yet.””

“Was Derek the person Celeste owed money to?””

“I don't know.””

“Do you think he took the money?””

Dad rubbed his face.

“I think we need evidence before we decide who did what.””

I pulled out a chair.

“Why do you hate him?””

Dad's expression changed.

“I don't hate him.””

“You told me never to trust him with money.””

He stared at the coffee.

“Derek was someone I knew a long time ago. We worked together on a business opportunity. I put money into it because I believed him when he said he had everything arranged.””

“What happened?””

“The investment failed. A lot of people lost money. Derek disappeared before he had to answer questions about it.””

“Did he steal from you?””

“I couldn't prove that he did.””

“Then why do you think he might be involved now?””

Dad looked toward the office.

“Because the transaction date I found matches a period when he was contacting people connected to my company.””

My stomach tightened.

“Did Celeste know him?””

“That's what I need to establish.””

A floorboard creaked above us.

Celeste appeared at the top of the stairs, dressed in the same dark sweater she'd worn the previous evening. Her face looked drawn, and her eyes were swollen.

She descended without speaking.

Dad pushed a folder across the table.

“Sit down.””

She glanced at the folder.

“What is that?””

“Records related to the company transfers.””

“I already explained what happened.””

“No. You explained that you were trying to fix a financial mistake. You haven't explained who received the money.””

Celeste pulled out a chair but didn't sit.

“I told you I need time.””

“You can take time to speak with a lawyer if you want. But you cannot expect me to ignore unexplained transfers from my company.””

She finally sat.

Dad opened the folder.

“Do you know someone named Derek?””

Celeste's fingers tightened around the edge of the chair.

It was a tiny movement.

Dad noticed.

“Celeste?””

She looked at him.

“Where did you hear that name?””

“Answer the question.””

She swallowed.

“Yes.””

“How do you know him?””

“He was someone I knew before I met you.””

“Were you in business together?””

“No.””

“Did you borrow money from him?””

Celeste stared at the table.

“Yes.””

Dad leaned back.

“How much?””

“I don't know the exact amount.””

“Was it more than ten thousand dollars?””

She nodded.

“More than twenty thousand?””

Another nod.

Dad closed his eyes briefly.

“Did you use my company's money to pay him back?””

“I was trying to stop things from getting worse.””

“That's not an answer.””

“Yes,” she whispered.

I gripped the edge of my chair.

Dad's voice remained controlled, but his face had gone pale.

“Did you transfer money from Nia's account to him, too?””

Celeste looked at me.

Then she looked away.

“I didn't transfer it directly to him.””

“What does that mean?””

“I moved it through another account.””

Dad stood so abruptly his chair scraped backward.

“You moved our daughter's money through another account to pay a debt to a man you knew before we were married?””

Celeste flinched.

“Don't make it sound like I wanted to hurt her!””

“How else am I supposed to describe it?””

“I was going to put it all back!””

“With what money?””

She didn't answer.

Dad placed both hands on the table and leaned toward her.

“Did Derek threaten you?””

Celeste's face crumpled.

“No.””

“Did he threaten Nia?””

“No!””

“Then why were you so afraid of me finding out?””

“Because you'd leave me.””

The words came out in a whisper.

For a moment, Dad looked almost stunned.

Celeste wiped her face.

“You'd look at me exactly the way you're looking at me now. You'd decide I was a liar, and you'd never give me another chance.””

“You took money from my company.””

“I know.””

“You took money from my daughter.””

“I know!””

“Then you hid it.””

Celeste began to cry harder.

“I thought I could fix everything before you knew.””

Dad stepped away from the table.

“You keep saying that as if the intention changes what happened.””

She covered her face.

I wanted to feel sorry for her. Part of me still remembered the woman who had braided the loose ends of my twists before a school picture and brought soup to my room when I was sick.

But every time I tried to reach for those memories, I saw my banking balance.

Twelve dollars and sixty-seven cents.

“Celeste,” I said quietly, “why didn't you ask Dad for help?””

She looked at me through her fingers.

“Because I was ashamed.””

“You could have told him.””

“You don't understand.””

“Then explain it to me.””

She dropped her hands.

For a moment, I thought she might finally tell the whole story.

Instead, she said, “Your father already had enough responsibilities. His company was growing. You were getting older. I didn't want him to think I'd brought problems into his life.””

Dad gave a short, disbelieving laugh.

“So you created a bigger problem in secret?””

Celeste looked down.

He closed the folder.

“I'm contacting the independent reviewer this morning. Any communication with Derek needs to be preserved. Don't delete your messages or alter any records.””

Her head snapped up.

“You can't take my phone!””

“I didn't say I would.””

“You're acting like I'm under investigation!””

“The transactions are under review. You need to stop treating every question as an attack.””

Celeste stood.

“I'm going to my sister's.””

Dad didn't stop her.

She stared at him, waiting for a response.

“Marcus?””

“If you need somewhere to stay, you can make that decision. But you will not take company records, and I expect you to cooperate with the financial review.””

She shook her head as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Then she went upstairs.

A few minutes later, I heard her rolling a suitcase down the hallway.

Dad stood near the kitchen doorway, his arms hanging at his sides.

“Are you going to stop her?”” I asked.

“No.””

“Are you going to divorce her?””

He looked at me.

“That's not something I'm going to decide in anger.””

I nodded, though I wasn't sure whether I believed him.

Celeste came downstairs carrying a suitcase and a handbag. She paused beside the dining table, where the birthday cake had finally been covered and pushed to one side.

Her gaze settled on the MacBook box.

She picked it up.

“I bought this for you,” she said to me.

I looked at the box.

“No, you didn't.””

Her face tightened.

“I wanted to give you something wonderful.””

“Then why did you use my money?””

She lowered the box.

For a moment, she looked genuinely wounded.

“I made a terrible mistake.””

I held her gaze.

“Then you should have told the truth before I found out.””

She had no answer.

Dad opened the front door.

Celeste walked outside without saying goodbye.

When the door closed, the house seemed strangely empty.

I stood by the window and watched her put her suitcase into her car. She sat behind the wheel for nearly a minute before starting the engine.

Then she drove away.

Dad closed the curtains.

“Let's get you some breakfast,” he said.

“I don't want anything.””

“I know.””

He pulled me into a hug.

I rested my forehead against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

“Is everything going to be okay?”” I asked.

He held me tighter.

“I don't know exactly what happens next. But you won't have to handle this alone.””

For the first time in two days, I believed him.

Then his phone rang.

Denise.

He answered.

“Good morning.””

She spoke for several seconds before Dad's expression shifted.

“Wait. You found a connection between Derek and one of the company accounts?””

He listened.

“What kind of connection?””

Another pause.

“Send it over.””

He ended the call and opened the document she had forwarded.

I watched his face.

“What did she find?””

Dad enlarged a section of the report.

“This is an old company payment,” he said.

“It was recorded as a consulting expense before Celeste and I were married.””

“Was Derek the consultant?””

“His name appears in the supporting records.””

I leaned closer.

“What does that mean?””

“It means he may have been connected to my company earlier than I realized. But we need to establish what work was actually performed and whether the payments were legitimate.””

Dad scrolled farther down.

A second entry appeared.

Then a third.

All of them carried similar descriptions.

All of them required supporting documentation that wasn't immediately available.

“Dad,” I whispered, “what if he never stopped?””

Dad stared at the screen.

“I've been asking myself the same question.””

His phone chimed again.

This time, it was a message from an unknown number.

Dad opened it.

There was only one sentence.