opened it.
His eyes scanned the first page.
Then the next.
“What is this number?”
“Four hundred eighty-two thousand dollars.”
Mom whispered, “Claire…” TrackPregnancy
“That’s what Dad transferred without authorization.”
Vanessa faced him.
“You said those were loans Daniel approved.”
“They were,” Dad snapped.
“No,” I said. “They weren’t.”
I showed them Daniel’s email.
Dad read it twice.
For the first time, I saw my father realize that raising his voice wouldn’t rescue him.
Vanessa began crying.
“My company will collapse.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“You know I have employees.”
“You should have thought about them before funding your company with money that wasn’t yours.”
Mom suddenly changed her approach. TrackPregnancy
She moved closer.
“What would Daniel think about you treating family this way?”
For a second, it nearly worked. Then I remembered driving through contractions while Mom worried about her dining-room floor.
“Daniel is the reason you’re facing consequences.”
I showed