Chapter 2: My Father Had an Answer
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The afternoon sunlight fell across the coffee table, illuminating the university letter Vanessa had tried to hide. A car passed outside. Somewhere down the street, a dog barked.
Inside our living room, my father stared at Officer Daniels as if she had spoken a language he didn't understand.
“That's impossible,” Dad finally said.
Officer Daniels kept the transaction record in her hand.
“I'm not asking you to agree with it. I'm asking you to explain it.””
Dad shook his head and reached for the document.
“Let me see that.””
She allowed him to examine the page while keeping the folder open. The account number and other identifying details were obscured, but his name appeared on the record.
Marcus Bennett.
My father's full name.
He read it once.
Then again.
His fingers tightened around the edge of the paper.
“I never received any scholarship money,” he said.
“The university told us the award had been canceled.””
Officer Daniels watched him carefully.
“Who at the university told you that?””
“Vanessa.””
The answer came so quickly that even Vanessa seemed surprised.
She turned toward him.
“Marcus, don't do this.””
Dad looked at her.
“Don't do what?””
“Act like I made this happen.””
“You told me the scholarship was gone!””
“Because it was!””
“Then why does the officer have a transaction record with my name on it?””
Vanessa glanced at the folder.
For the first time since I could remember, she appeared to have no prepared answer.
I stood beside the sofa, my cheek still stinging. Officer Daniels noticed me shifting my weight and gestured toward a chair.
“You can sit down if you need to,” she said gently.
“I'm fine.””
My voice sounded thinner than I wanted it to.
She nodded but didn't push.
“Did you personally submit a scholarship withdrawal request, Nia?””
“No.””
“Did you authorize anyone to submit one for you?””
“No. Never.””
“Did you sign any documents asking the university to cancel your award?””
“No.””
Each answer felt like placing another brick between me and the woman who had spent weeks telling me I was confused.
Vanessa clicked her tongue.
“This is being blown out of proportion. A signature can look different on different documents.””
Officer Daniels turned toward her.
“That's possible. That's why we're investigating.””
“Well, there you go.””
“But the financial record is a separate matter.””
Vanessa's lips pressed together.
Dad looked down at the page again.
“How much money are we talking about?”” he asked.
Officer Daniels didn't announce an amount. She simply turned the record so he could see the transaction details.
“This record appears to show a transfer connected to the scholarship funds. We still need the university and financial institution to verify the complete transaction history.””
Dad stared at the paper.
“I don't understand. The scholarship was supposed to cover her tuition directly.””
“That is what the award letter indicated,” I said.
Vanessa whipped her head toward me.
“Nia, nobody asked you.””
Officer Daniels stepped slightly between us.
“She's entitled to answer questions about her own scholarship.””
Vanessa gave a humorless laugh.
“Entitled? She's eighteen. She doesn't know anything about how the real world works.””
“Then we should have no trouble establishing what happened,” the officer replied.
The calmness in her voice seemed to irritate Vanessa more than shouting would have.
My stepmother turned toward Dad, desperate to regain control.
“Marcus, tell her about the account.””
He didn't answer.
“Tell her!””
Dad lifted his head.
“What account?””
Vanessa stared at him.
I saw it then.
A tiny break in her expression, so brief I might have missed it if I hadn't spent years learning how to anticipate her moods.
She had expected him to know something he clearly didn't.
Officer Daniels noticed it, too.
“Mrs. Bennett,” she said, “are you aware of this account?””
Vanessa took a step backward.
“I'm aware that my husband has a bank account.””
“Do you have access to it?””
“Of course. We're married.””
“That wasn't my question.””
Vanessa's jaw tightened.
“I manage most of the household finances. Marcus works long hours. I pay bills, handle paperwork, and make sure this family runs.””
Dad stared at her.
“You told me you were handling Nia's university correspondence.””
“I was helping her.””
“Did you submit the withdrawal form?””
“No!””
The denial was loud enough to make me jump.
Officer Daniels closed the folder halfway.
“I'm going to ask both of you to remain available while we verify the records. At this stage, I'm not making an accusation against either person. I need to understand who submitted the form and where the money went.””
Dad sat heavily on the sofa.
Vanessa remained standing, her arms crossed so tightly that the fabric of her blouse pulled across her shoulders.
I wanted to believe Dad was innocent.
I needed him to be.
But I couldn't forget how quickly he'd accepted Vanessa's story about my scholarship. He hadn't asked to see the university's original message. He hadn't checked my email. He hadn't even asked me to explain what had happened before deciding I was the problem.
“Dad,” I said quietly.
He looked up.
“Did you know there was money connected to my scholarship?””
“No, Nia.””
“Did you give her permission to move it?””
“No.””
“Then why did you believe her when she said it was canceled?””
His mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Officer Daniels gave him a moment before asking, “Mr. Bennett, do you remember receiving any email, letter, or banking notification about these funds?””
Dad rubbed his palms together.
“I get a lot of work emails. I don't remember anything about this.””
“Could someone else access your email?””
“Vanessa sometimes uses my laptop to pay bills.””
Vanessa immediately interrupted.
“Because you asked me to!””
“I know what I asked you to do.””
“Then don't make it sound suspicious.””
Officer Daniels raised one hand.
“One person at a time.””
She asked Dad whether he would consent to providing relevant records to help clarify the matter. He agreed, although his eyes kept returning to his name on the transaction sheet.
Then the officer turned to Vanessa.
“I'd like to see the scholarship cancellation notice you mentioned.””
Vanessa blinked.
“What notice?””
“The one you said established that the university canceled Nia's award.””
Vanessa reached into her pocket and pulled out the folded paper.
“This.””
She handed it over with the air of someone surrendering an inconvenience.
Officer Daniels unfolded it carefully.
She read the first section.
Then the second.
Her expression remained neutral, but she paused at the bottom of the page.
“Mrs. Bennett, where did you get this?””
“From the university.””
“Which office?””
“The financial aid office.””
“Who sent it?””
“I don't remember.””
“Was it an email attachment or a printed letter?””
“An email.””
Officer Daniels examined the paper again.
“Do you have the original email?””
Vanessa looked toward Dad.
“It's probably on my computer.””
“Then we'll need to preserve it and verify its source.””
“Why? I gave you the letter.””
“Because a printed document alone doesn't establish who sent it or whether it is authentic.””
Vanessa's face tightened.
“This is harassment.””
“No, ma'am. It's an investigation.””
Dad slowly stood.
“Vanessa, I want to see the original email.””
“You don't trust me now?””
“I want to see it.””
“After everything I've done for you?””
He stared at her.
“I just found out someone may have withdrawn my daughter's scholarship using a forged signature. My name is on a financial record I don't recognize. And the only person who told me the scholarship was canceled was you.””
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
“So now I'm the villain?””
“I didn't say that.””
“You didn't have to.””
She snatched her purse from the side table and began searching inside it, moving lipstick, receipts, and a set of keys from one pocket to another.
Officer Daniels watched her hands.
“Mrs. Bennett, please don't destroy or discard any documents connected to the scholarship.””
Vanessa stopped searching.
“I am not destroying anything.””
“Then there's no problem with preserving the records.””
She dropped the purse onto the table.
I stared at the cancellation notice in the officer's hand. Something about it bothered me. I couldn't explain what, but I remembered seeing the same paper on the kitchen counter three weeks earlier, beside a yellow envelope with the university's name on it.
Vanessa had told me the envelope contained an explanation of the cancellation.
I had reached for it.
She had snatched it away.
“Officer Daniels,” I said, “there was another envelope.””
Everyone turned toward me.
“What envelope?”” the officer asked.
“It was yellow. It had the university's name on it. I saw it in the kitchen, and Vanessa took it before I could open it.””
Vanessa stared at me with open hostility.
“You need to stop inventing things.””
“I'm not inventing anything.””
“You're upset. You're remembering things incorrectly.””
“I remember the envelope.””
Officer Daniels took out a small notebook.
“Where is it now?””
“I don't know. She might still have it.””
The officer turned toward Vanessa.
“Do you know which envelope Nia is referring to?””
Vanessa's silence stretched.
Then Dad said something that made her face change completely.
“It's in my desk,” he said.
“I saw a yellow university envelope in there yesterday.””
Vanessa slowly turned toward him.
“You went through my things?””
“It's my desk.””
“No,” she said, her voice dropping.
“You don't understand what you're looking at.””
Officer Daniels looked up sharply.
“What does that mean, Mrs. Bennett?””
Vanessa swallowed.
For the first time, she seemed genuinely afraid.
May you like
And when Dad took a step toward the hallway to retrieve the envelope, she grabbed his wrist.
“Marcus,” she whispered, “if you open that drawer, you're going to destroy this family.””