Chapter 8: The Other House
Dad didn't yell.
That somehow made everything worse.
He stood in the kitchen with Harold still on speakerphone and stared at Lauren.
“What other house?””
Lauren said nothing.
Madison looked terrified.
Dad repeated the question.
“What other house?””
Madison wiped her cheeks.
“Mom showed it to me in August.””
“Where?””
“Sugar Land.””
“Why?””
“She said it might be ours someday.””
Dad's eyes moved to Lauren.
“Ours?””
Madison nodded.
“She said after everything settled down.””
“What does that mean?””
“I don't know.””
“Yes, you do.””
Madison began twisting the sleeve of her T-shirt.
“She said once Zoe went to boarding school, things would change.””
My stomach tightened.
“How?””
“She said you and Mom would sell this house.””
Dad almost laughed.
“This house?””
Madison nodded.
“And we'd move into the new one.””
Grandma slowly sat down.
Dad asked, “Did Lauren tell you what happened to Zoe after this house was sold?””
Madison looked at me.
“No.””
Lauren finally spoke.
“Because none of this was finalized.””
Dad turned toward her.
“So it existed.””
“I looked at property.””
“You put a deposit on property.””
“People make investments.””
“With Zoe's money?””
“I didn't know where that money came from.””
Grandma laughed once.
Lauren glared at her.
Grandma shook her head.
“You've used that sentence so many times tonight I'm surprised you still expect it to work.””
Dad picked up his phone.
“Harold, can you send me the property record?””
“Already did.””
Dad opened the email.
The listing photographs showed a huge modern house.
White brick.
Black-framed windows.
Pool.
Three-car garage.
It was more expensive than our home.
Dad scrolled.
Then stopped.
“Who is the buyer?””
Harold answered.
“LMB Lifestyle Consulting.””
Lauren folded her arms.
“A business investment.””
Dad looked at the price.
“Seven hundred eighty-five thousand dollars.””
I stared at him.
Grandma's eyebrows rose.
“The deposit?””
“Thirty thousand.””
Dad looked at Lauren.
“From Zoe's trust?””
Harold answered before she could.
“Twenty-two thousand appears traceable to trust transfers. I'm still tracing the rest.””
My hands went cold.
Thirty-one thousand had already been taken.
Forty-eight thousand more had been attempted.
A car.
A house.
I couldn't understand numbers that large.
I still had school crackers in my backpack.
That was the part my brain kept returning to.
Someone had taken tens of thousands of dollars belonging to me.
And I'd been hungry.
Grandma looked at me.
She seemed to know exactly what I was thinking.
“Zoe.””
I shook my head.
“I don't care about the money.””
Lauren laughed bitterly.
“Of course you do.””
I looked at her.
“No.””
Everyone went quiet.
“I care that you had money from me and still wouldn't let me eat.””
Lauren's face changed.
“I never—”
“You had enough money to put a deposit on a giant house.””
My voice shook.
“And I was saving crackers.””
Dad looked down.
Grandma squeezed my hand.
I kept going.
“You could've taken every dollar Grandma sent and still given me dinner.””
Lauren had no answer.
“You didn't keep food from me because we couldn't afford it.””
I finally understood the cruelty of that.
“You did it because you wanted me to feel unwanted.””
Madison started crying quietly.
Lauren looked toward Dad.
“Are you going to let her speak to me like this?””
Dad stared at her.
“Yes.””
Lauren seemed stunned.
“Yes,” he repeated.
“She gets to speak.””
Grandma ended the call with Harold after asking him to send everything securely.
Dad then looked at Madison.
“I need you to tell me something.””
She nodded.
“When Lauren showed you the house, was anyone else there?””
Madison hesitated.
Lauren said sharply, “Don't.””
Dad looked at her.
“Why?””
Madison whispered, “A man.””
The room changed.
Dad's expression became unreadable.
“What man?””
“I don't know.””
Lauren laughed nervously.
“The realtor.””
Madison shook her head.
“He wasn't the realtor.””
Lauren glared at her.
“How would you know?””
“Because the realtor was a woman.””
Dad's face went still.
Grandma looked at Lauren.
Dad asked, “Who was the man?””
Madison swallowed.
“His name was Eric.””
Lauren grabbed the back of a chair.
Dad noticed.
“Eric who?””
“I don't know.””
“Why was he there?””
Madison looked at her mother.
“Mom told me he was helping with the business.””
Dad stared at Lauren.
“What business?””
“Consulting.””
“What does LMB Lifestyle Consulting consult on?””
Lauren said nothing.
Dad asked again.
“What did the company do?””
“I was developing a lifestyle brand.””
Grandma raised an eyebrow.
“Using a teenager's education fund?””
Lauren ignored her.
Dad turned back to Madison.
“How often did you see Eric?””
“Maybe four times.””
Lauren's face drained.
“Four?””
Madison nodded.
“One time at lunch. Twice when Mom picked me up from school.””
“And the house?””
“Yes.””
Dad's voice remained calm.
“Did Lauren ever tell you not to mention him?””
Madison's silence answered.
Dad closed his eyes.
Lauren immediately said, “It's not what you think.””
Dad opened them.
“What do I think?””
She stopped.
“You said it's not what I think. So tell me what I think.””
“Eric helped me with investments.””
“Then why hide him?””
“Because you get jealous.””
Grandma actually laughed.
Dad looked at her.
“Sorry,” she said.
Lauren snapped, “This is funny to you?””
“No. That excuse was.””
Dad walked toward the window.
For the first time that night, he looked exhausted.
Not furious.
Not protective.
Just tired.
I suddenly saw what this was doing to him.
In a few hours, he'd discovered that his wife had mistreated his daughter, hidden money, possibly forged documents, tried to send me away, attempted to alter property records, and secretly purchased another house.
Now there might be another man.
Dad stared into the darkness outside.
“Was Eric going to live in that house?””
Madison whispered, “I don't know.””
Lauren said, “No.””
Dad turned.
“I asked Madison.””
She swallowed.
“One time Mom joked that Eric already knew which bedroom he wanted.””
Dad's face changed.
Lauren shouted, “That was a joke!””
Madison flinched.
Dad walked toward the dining table and sat.
Grandma watched him.
“Marcus?””
He held up a hand.
“I need a second.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Dad asked the strangest question.
“Was there a room for Zoe?””
Madison started crying.
I knew the answer before she gave it.
“No.””
Dad nodded.
Once.
That was all.
Lauren stepped closer.
“Marcus, listen to me.””
“No.””
“Eric is a business partner.””
“I don't care.””
Her face changed.
“What?””
“I don't care who Eric is tonight.””
He looked at me.
“My daughter was hungry.””
Lauren opened her mouth.
“That is the center of this.””
He pointed toward the trust documents.
“You stole from her? We'll deal with it.””
The forged deed.
“You forged my signature? We'll deal with it.””
The boarding-school application.
“You planned to send her away? We'll deal with it.””
Then he looked at Lauren.
“But none of those papers explain how you could sit at that table eating steak while a fifteen-year-old child stood there asking for dinner.””
Lauren looked down.
Dad's voice cracked.
“I married someone who could do that.””
For the first time, Lauren seemed to understand that the marriage might actually be over.
She sat down.
Her anger disappeared.
“Marcus.””
He didn't answer.
“I was overwhelmed.””
Silence.
“I was angry.””
Nothing.
“I made mistakes.””
Dad finally looked at her.
“A mistake is forgetting to pick up milk.””
Lauren began crying.
“I can fix this.””
“No.””
“We can go to counseling.””
“No.””
“I'll repay everything.””
“No.””
Her voice broke.
“You're throwing away six years?””
Dad stared at her.
“You were preparing another house.””
She stopped.
“You were preparing to send my daughter away.””
Nothing.
“And apparently you were preparing a life that didn't include either of us.””
Lauren shook her head.
“You don't know that.””
Dad's phone buzzed.
A message from Harold.
Dad opened it.
Then frowned.
“What?””
Grandma moved closer.
Dad enlarged an attachment.
It was another financial record.
He read the account holder.
Then looked at Lauren.
“Eric Collins.””
Lauren stopped crying.
Madison whispered, “That's him.””
Dad continued reading.
The property deposit had come from two sources.
LMB Lifestyle Consulting.
And an account belonging to Eric Collins.
Dad looked at Lauren.
“So your business partner was buying the house with you.””
Lauren whispered, “Yes.””
Dad scrolled farther.
Then stopped.
Grandma asked, “What?””
Dad handed her the phone.
She read.
Her expression changed.
“What is it?”” I asked.
Grandma looked at Dad.
He nodded.
She answered carefully.
“The purchase agreement lists two intended occupants.””
My heart started pounding.
“Who?””
Grandma read the names.
Lauren Bennett.
Eric Collins.
No Marcus.
No Zoe.
No Madison.
Madison's face collapsed.
“I'm not on it?””
Lauren looked at her daughter.
“Baby—”
“I'm not on it?””
“It wasn't final.””
“You said it was for us!””
“It was going to be.””
“You lied to me too.””
Madison backed away.
“All this time you said we were getting rid of Zoe so we could finally be a family.””
My stomach turned at the phrase.
Dad stood.
Madison's voice rose.
“But you were getting rid of me too, weren't you?””
“No!””
“You were going to leave me with Marcus!””
Dad flinched at the wording.
Lauren rushed toward her daughter.
Madison stepped away.
“Don't touch me.””
“Madison.””
“Don't!””
Her scream echoed through the house.
She ran upstairs.
Lauren started after her.
Dad blocked her.
“Give her space.””
“She's my daughter.””
“And right now she's terrified.””
Lauren stared at him.
Then the doorbell rang.
All of us froze.
It was nearly ten thirty.
Dad walked toward the door.
Grandma followed.
I stayed behind them.
Dad looked through the peephole.
His expression hardened.
“Who is it?”” Grandma asked.
Dad opened the door.
A man stood on the porch.
Tall.
Gray suit.
Nervous expression.
He looked past Dad.
Straight at Lauren.
“Lauren?””
She went white.
Dad looked at the stranger.
“You Eric?””
The man swallowed.
“Yes.””
May you like
Then he held up a thick envelope.
“I think you need to know what your wife has been telling me.””
