Chapter 4: The Woman Who Knew Too Much
"Evelyn, I know what you've found.""
Tasha stood in the study doorway, still holding her car keys. Behind her, late-afternoon sunlight stretched across the hallway, illuminating the family photographs hanging on the wall.
She looked at the open cabinet.
Then at the envelope in my hands.
Finally, she looked at me.
"Put it back.""
I didn't move.
"Why is Isaiah's money in an account controlled by Renee's brother?""
Tasha closed the study door behind her.
"Because Renee made arrangements before she died.""
"Then why did you tell me the envelope was yours?""
"I never said it was mine.""
"You told me it didn't concern me.""
"It doesn't.""
I rose from the chair.
"Almost twenty-eight thousand dollars has disappeared from Isaiah's savings. You've been hiding his mother's letter. Money has been transferred to a man you claim barely concerns us, and now I discover another account with more than a hundred and eighty thousand dollars in it.""
I held up the statement.
"Tell me why.""
Tasha's eyes fixed on the paper.
For the first time, she seemed to understand that I wasn't going to retreat simply because she raised her voice.
"Give me that statement.""
"No.""
"That is confidential financial information.""
"It concerns a child whose money you may have been using.""
Her face hardened.
"You have no proof that I took anything.""
"Then help me understand the transactions.""
She extended her hand.
"Give it to me, Evelyn.""
I placed the statement on the desk instead.
"I'm calling Malcolm.""
Tasha lunged forward and grabbed the paper.
I reached for it, but she pulled it against her chest.
"Stop treating me like a criminal!""
"Then stop behaving like someone with something to hide!""
The words came out louder than I intended.
We stared at each other.
Then Tasha did something I hadn't expected.
She began to cry.
Not the quiet tears of someone overwhelmed by a difficult situation. Her face twisted with anger, and she wiped her cheeks so violently that her makeup smeared.
"You think I've had an easy life?"" she demanded.
"You think I wanted to spend every day raising a child who isn't mine while everyone compares me to a dead woman?""
I watched her carefully.
"Isaiah lost his mother.""
"And what did I lose?"" she shouted.
"My privacy. My freedom. My chance to have a family that belongs to me!""
I looked toward the hallway, where Isaiah's school backpack rested beside the coat rack.
"He is your family.""
"No. He's Malcolm's responsibility.""
"Then why did you marry Malcolm?""
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
For a moment, the only sound in the room was the ticking clock on the wall.
Then she shoved the bank statement into the drawer.
"You're making a terrible mistake.""
"Perhaps. But I'm not the one who needs to explain nearly thirty thousand dollars.""
She stepped closer.
"Do you want to know why Renee left that envelope with me?""
"Yes.""
"Because she didn't trust Malcolm.""
The statement struck me harder than I expected.
"My son loved Renee.""
"Love isn't the same as trust.""
"Tasha—"
"She knew Malcolm could be careless with money. She knew he wanted to make everyone happy, and she was afraid he'd give Isaiah's inheritance away trying to solve every problem in the family.""
I shook my head.
"That's not what Malcolm told me.""
"Of course it isn't. He doesn't know everything.""
She turned toward the window.
"When Renee was sick, she asked me to help her organize her paperwork. She showed me the insurance documents, the savings account, and the trust arrangements. She said Isaiah would have money for college, for a home, for whatever he wanted when he was old enough.""
"And the envelope?""
Tasha's shoulders stiffened.
"She said I had to keep it safe until the right time.""
"What was the right time?""
"I don't know.""
I stared at her.
"You've had that envelope for two years.""
"I said I don't know!""
Her shout echoed through the study.
Then she lowered her voice.
"Renee was afraid of something. She made me promise that if anything happened to her, I would protect Isaiah's future.""
"Protect it from whom?""
Tasha looked at the cabinet.
"I don't know.""
I didn't believe her.
Not entirely.
But I could see something beneath her anger that unsettled me more than her threats.
She seemed afraid of Renee's letter.
Not simply afraid that I would discover it.
Afraid of what it contained.
My phone vibrated.
Malcolm was calling.
I answered immediately and switched to speaker.
"Malcolm, Tasha is here.""
"I figured," he replied.
Tasha's head snapped toward the phone.
"Why are you involving your mother in our marriage?""
"Because my son is being denied school supplies while money from his savings disappears.""
"You don't know what you're talking about.""
"Then explain the transfers.""
"I've explained everything to you.""
"No, Tasha. You've given me excuses.""
Her jaw tightened.
Malcolm continued.
"The bank confirmed that Renee's trust is separate from Isaiah's savings account. You weren't authorized to withdraw from either account.""
Tasha went very still.
I watched the color drain from her face.
"That's not true," she whispered.
"The bank has the original documents.""
"They're mistaken.""
"They have Renee's signed instructions.""
Tasha shook her head.
"No. No, that's impossible.""
I looked at her sharply.
"Why is that impossible?""
She ignored me.
"Malcolm, you don't understand. Renee changed things at the last minute.""
"Then why didn't you tell me?""
"Because she asked me not to!""
"She was my wife!""
"And I was the person she trusted with the truth!""
The words exploded out of her.
Silence followed.
I could hear Malcolm breathing through the phone.
Then he asked, very quietly, "What truth?""
Tasha covered her mouth.
For several seconds, she looked as though she might answer.
Instead, she snatched her purse from the chair.
"I'm going out.""
"You're not leaving until we finish this conversation," I said.
She turned toward me.
"Watch me.""
She pulled the study door open and marched down the hallway.
I followed her as far as the front door.
Before she stepped outside, I called after her.
"Tasha, where is Derek Collins?""
She froze.
Her fingers tightened around her keys.
Then she turned her head just enough for me to see her profile.
"Ask Renee's brother what he did to her.""
She walked out and slammed the door.
I stood in the entryway, my heart pounding.
Malcolm's voice came through the phone.
"Mom? What did she say?""
I repeated Tasha's words.
He didn't respond immediately.
Then he said, "I need to tell you something about Renee.""
I sat on the bottom stair.
"What?""
"When Renee died, she had been trying to reach Derek for three days. She'd left him several messages, but he never answered.""
"Why?""
"I don't know. They'd had an argument.""
"About the trust?""
"I think so. Renee believed Derek had discovered something about her finances.""
I looked toward the study.
"Then why would she put Isaiah's money in a trust connected to him?""
"Because she may not have had a choice.""
"What does that mean?""
Malcolm exhaled.
"Mom, I'm coming home tonight. I don't want to explain this over the phone.""
"Malcolm, I need answers now.""
"I know. But there are things I don't understand myself.""
I rubbed my forehead.
"Fine. But when you arrive, we're opening that envelope.""
He was quiet for a moment.
Then he said, "There's one more thing.""
"What?""
"Before Renee died, she asked me to promise something.""
I waited.
"She told me that if anything happened to her, I should never let Isaiah grow up believing he had to earn his place in our family.""
My eyes filled with tears.
"Why would she say that?""
"At the time, I thought she was just frightened. She was sick, Mom. She was worried about leaving him.""
"And now?""
"Now I think she knew someone was already treating him differently.""
I looked toward the kitchen, remembering the way Isaiah had asked permission to take a banana.
The way he had apologized for wanting a notebook.
The way he had begged me not to tell Tasha he'd spoken to me.
"Bring the original bank documents," I told Malcolm.
"And call Derek.""
"I've already tried.""
"What happened?""
"He didn't answer.""
I closed my eyes.
Of course he hadn't.
I ended the call and went to the kitchen.
Isaiah was sitting at the table, drawing a picture of a house. Three small figures stood beneath a yellow sun.
I sat beside him.
"That's beautiful, sweetheart.""
He smiled faintly.
"That's the house Daddy said we'd have someday.""
I studied the drawing.
There was a tall figure labeled DAD, a smaller figure labeled ME, and another figure labeled GRANDMA.
But a fourth figure had been crossed out.
I touched the edge of the paper.
"Who was that?""
Isaiah covered the crossed-out figure with his hand.
"Nobody.""
I didn't press him.
Instead, I took his old backpack from the chair beside him.
"We're going shopping tomorrow.""
His eyes widened.
"Really?""
"Really. We'll get you a backpack, notebooks, shoes, and anything else you need.""
He smiled for the first time that day.
"Can I pick the color?""
"Every single thing.""
He leaned against my shoulder.
And in that moment, I made myself a promise.
Whatever Renee had left behind, whatever secrets the adults in this family had buried, Isaiah would never again have to stand beside a table full of things he wasn't allowed to touch.
But later that evening, when I returned to the study to secure the envelope, I discovered something that made my promise feel terrifyingly small.
The cabinet was open.
The envelope was gone.
And on the desk lay a handwritten note.
If you want to know what really happened to Renee, stop looking at the money.
Below it was a phone number.
May you like
And a name.
*Derek Collins.*