Chapter 14: Lauren Came Back
Lauren returned at 2:13 that afternoon.
I know the exact time because all four of us were sitting in the living room when her key turned in the lock.
Dad stood.
Grandma put down her coffee.
Madison went rigid.
I stayed where I was.
Lauren entered carrying no purse.
No suitcase.
Nothing.
She looked like she hadn't slept.
Her makeup was gone.
Her eyes were swollen.
She closed the door.
“I need to talk to Marcus.””
Dad shook his head.
“Whatever you say, you can say in front of Zoe.””
Lauren looked at me.
“This isn't appropriate for her.””
I almost laughed.
“You made it appropriate for me.””
She looked away.
Dad folded his arms.
“Talk.””
Lauren remained near the door.
“I spoke to an attorney.””
“Good.””
“He advised me not to discuss financial details.””
Grandma leaned back.
“Then this should be a short visit.””
Lauren ignored her.
“I came for Madison.””
Madison stood.
“No.””
Lauren looked shocked.
“We're leaving.””
“I'm not going.””
“I am your mother.””
“And you lied to me.””
Lauren's jaw tightened.
“We will discuss that privately.””
“No.””
“Madison.””
“No!””
Her voice echoed.
“I want to know why you told Derek about Zoe's money.””
Lauren froze.
Dad watched her carefully.
“Naomi found the emails.””
Lauren's shoulders dropped.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then:
“Derek contacted me first.””
Grandma stood.
“That isn't what the email shows.””
“He approached me before that.””
“How?””
Lauren looked toward Dad.
“At a charity event.””
Dad remembered.
“The children's hospital fundraiser?””
“Yes.””
“You met the man who later helped you steal from my daughter at a children's hospital fundraiser?””
Lauren winced.
“I didn't know what he was doing.””
Dad picked up the printed email.
“He wrote that there were funds attached to Zoe's name.””
“I thought they were abandoned.””
I stared at her.
“Money with my name on it was abandoned?””
She looked at me.
“I knew you'd inherit plenty eventually.””
Grandma's mouth fell open.
Dad's voice became dangerously calm.
“So you decided she didn't need this portion?””
“No.””
“That is exactly what you just said.””
Lauren started crying.
“I was in debt.””
There it was.
Something new.
Dad stared at her.
“What debt?””
She wiped her face.
“Before we married.””
“How much?””
“About seventy thousand.””
Dad looked stunned.
“You told me you had no debt.””
“I was ashamed.””
“What kind?””
“Credit cards. Personal loans. A failed business.””
Madison whispered, “You told me Grandpa paid off your debt.””
Lauren looked at her.
“He paid some.””
Dad laughed bitterly.
“So when Derek told you there might be money attached to Zoe's name…”
“I thought it was money nobody was using.””
Grandma stared at her.
“That's called stealing.””
“I intended to replace it.””
“You keep saying that,” I said.
Lauren looked at me.
“When?””
She didn't answer.
“When were you going to replace my birthday money?””
Silence.
“My Christmas money?””
Nothing.
“My college money?””
She started crying.
“The money for Madison's car?””
I stood.
“The money for the new house?””
“Zoe—”
“No.””
My voice didn't shake this time.
“You keep saying you were going to pay it back.””
I looked directly at her.
“But you kept taking more.””
Lauren lowered her eyes.
Dad asked, “Did Derek help you forge Rachel's signature?””
“No.””
“Whose idea was the old account?””
“His.””
“The property deed?””
Lauren hesitated.
“Mine.””
Grandma shook her head.
“The boarding-school application?””
Lauren closed her eyes.
“Mine.””
Madison started crying.
“The food?””
Lauren looked at her daughter.
Nobody spoke.
Dad repeated:
“The food?””
Lauren's face crumpled.
“Mine.””
Something inside me went still.
I'd known.
Of course I'd known.
But hearing her admit it was different.
“Why?””
Lauren looked at me.
“Because you wouldn't leave.””
Grandma made a sound of disbelief.
Lauren started talking faster.
“I know how horrible that sounds.””
“It sounds horrible because it is,” Dad said.
“I thought if Zoe wanted to live with Evelyn, everything would calm down.””
“So you made her miserable enough to leave?””
Lauren cried.
“I never meant for it to become—”
“What?”” I asked.
She stopped.
“Cruel?””
I pointed toward the dining room.
“You watched me ask for food.””
Lauren covered her mouth.
“And you told me no.””
She whispered, “I'm sorry.””
I had imagined hearing those words so many times.
I thought they would make me feel powerful.
They didn't.
They made me tired.
Dad said, “What about the threats?””
Lauren looked confused.
“Madison telling Zoe she'd be sent away if she talked.””
“I didn't tell her to say that.””
Madison stood.
“You told me Zoe needed to learn nobody would believe her.””
Lauren stared at her.
“I was angry.””
“You told me Dad would choose us.””
Lauren said nothing.
Madison's voice broke.
“You made me hurt her for you.””
“No.””
“Yes.””
“You made choices too, Madison.””
That stopped her.
Lauren continued.
“You weren't forced to eat Zoe's food.””
Madison went pale.
“You weren't forced to mock her.””
“Stop.””
“You wanted her room.””
“Stop!””
“You wanted the car.””
“STOP!””
Madison screamed so loudly I jumped.
Then she started sobbing.
Dad stepped between them.
“That's enough.””
But Madison shook her head.
“No.””
She looked at me.
“She's right.””
I stared at her.
Madison wiped her face.
“She manipulated me.””
Her voice shook.
“But I still did it.””
Lauren looked surprised.
Madison continued.
“I knew Zoe was hungry.””
Tears ran down her face.
“I knew that dessert was hers.””
I swallowed.
“I knew she cried in the guest room.””
Dad looked down.
Madison faced me.
“I can't blame Mom for every part.””
Lauren's expression shifted.
For one second, she almost looked proud that Madison had taken responsibility.
Then Madison said:
“But I'm not becoming you.””
Lauren froze.
Madison moved beside me.
Not touching me.
Just standing there.
“I'll tell the truth about everything.””
Lauren stared at her.
“Against your mother?””
“About my mother.””
The difference landed.
Dad looked at Lauren.
“You should go.””
She didn't move.
“Marcus.””
“No.””
“I can fix some of this.””
“Financially?””
“Yes.””
“You can't fix the part I care about most.””
Lauren looked at me.
Dad continued.
“You made my daughter afraid to eat in her own home.””
Lauren's face collapsed.
“There is no check that fixes that.””
She stood silently for several seconds.
Then Grandma asked:
“Where is Derek?””
Lauren's head lifted.
“I don't know.””
Grandma didn't believe her.
Neither did Dad.
“Your attorney may have told you not to discuss finances,” Grandma said.
“But I hope he also told you not to protect someone who used you.””
Lauren's expression changed.
Dad saw it.
“He did use you, didn't he?””
Lauren looked away.
Dad stepped closer.
“How much did Derek take?””
“I don't know.””
“How much?””
Lauren's voice broke.
“Almost everything.””
Madison stared at her.
“What?””
Lauren sank into the chair.
“The money in LMB.””
Eric's sixty thousand.
My money.
Her own money.
“Derek had access.””
Dad frowned.
“Why?””
“He said he needed it for investments.””
Grandma almost laughed.
“And you trusted him?””
“I thought…”
Lauren stopped.
“What?”” Dad asked.
She whispered:
“I thought we were going to be together.””
The room went silent.
Eric hadn't been the only other man.
Derek.
Dad stared at her.
“You were involved with both of them?””
Lauren covered her face.
Madison looked physically sick.
Grandma closed her eyes.
Dad didn't look jealous.
He looked finished.
Lauren whispered, “Derek disappeared yesterday.””
Grandma's eyes opened.
“What do you mean disappeared?””
“His number is disconnected.””
Dad frowned.
“The money?””
“Gone.””
“How much?””
Lauren looked at me.
“About one hundred and twelve thousand dollars.””
My stomach dropped.
Dad immediately asked:
“How much of that was Zoe's?””
Lauren began crying.
“I don't know anymore.””
Then Dad's phone rang.
Naomi.
He answered.
“Yes?””
His face changed.
“When?””
A pause.
“Where?””
Another.
Dad looked toward Grandma.
Then at Lauren.
“You're sure?””
He ended the call.
Lauren stood.
“What?””
Dad stared at her.
“They found Derek.””
Her face drained.
“Where?””
“At Houston Intercontinental.””
Grandma stood.
“Was he leaving?””
Dad nodded.
“For Mexico City.””
Lauren covered her mouth.
Dad's voice was cold.
“He had three phones, financial records, and a laptop.””
I asked the question everyone was thinking.
“And the money?””
Dad looked at me.
“Naomi says they found access information for multiple accounts.””
Grandma exhaled.
“So maybe some can be recovered.””
Dad nodded.
Then he looked at Lauren.
“But Derek apparently gave them something else.””
Lauren whispered, “What?””
Dad's eyes hardened.
“A recording.””
Lauren stopped breathing.
“A recording of what?””
May you like
Dad answered:
“You telling him exactly how you planned to get Zoe out of this house.””
