Chapter 11 - DANIEL STOPS PRETENDING
Daniel arrived home early.
4:16 p.m.
Sarah was in the kitchen.
Ethan was upstairs.
Chloe and Rachel were with Miriam.
Daniel placed his keys on the counter.
“You've been in my office.”
Sarah didn't move.
“No.”
Daniel smiled.
But the expression held no warmth.
“Ethan, then.”
Sarah looked at him.
“You should ask him.”
Daniel studied her face.
“When did Rachel come back?”
Sarah's heart stopped.
Daniel knew.
He walked toward the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water.
“You really should tell people not to park rental cars two houses away.”
Sarah said nothing.
Daniel drank.
Then:
“How much did she tell you?”
“Enough.”
“Sarah…”
“Don't.”
Daniel sighed.
“This is exactly why I didn't want Rachel interfering again.”
Sarah laughed once.
“Interfering?”
“She has always resented our life.”
“Our life?”
Sarah stepped closer.
“You stole her money.”
“I managed money she gave us.”
“You stole money she sent to me.”
“I kept this family alive.”
“You paid Vanessa's rent.”
Daniel's expression changed.
There it was.
Not guilt.
Calculation.
He was deciding how much she knew.
Sarah continued.
“Lisbon. October fourteenth.”
Daniel slowly placed the bottle down.
“You went through private documents.”
“You forged my signature.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Be careful what you're accusing me of.”
“You forged Rachel's too.”
No response.
“You stole Dad's money.”
Daniel looked toward the stairs.
Then back at Sarah.
“You don't understand how complicated any of this is.”
“Then explain it.”
“I made decisions.”
“For twenty-one years?”
“I protected this family.”
“By making Chloe quit college?”
“She can go back.”
“By letting me skip medication?”
Daniel looked away.
That silence hurt more than any confession.
He had known.
Sarah whispered,
“You watched me leave that pharmacy.”
“I needed liquidity.”
“For Vanessa?”
“For the future.”
“Whose future?”
Daniel said nothing.
Then he walked toward his office.
Sarah blocked him.
“Where's the box?”
Daniel stopped.
“You tell me.”
Sarah realized.
He hadn't moved it after Thursday.
Someone else had.
Daniel took one step closer.
“Did you take it?”
“No.”
For the first time, real fear appeared in his eyes.
Daniel rushed toward the back door.
Ethan came downstairs.
“What happened?”
Daniel ran into the yard.
He dug beneath the tree.
Nothing.
The hole was empty.
Daniel turned toward the house.
Sarah and Ethan stood watching him from the patio.
Daniel's face had gone pale.
Sarah hadn't taken the box.
Ethan hadn't taken it.
Rachel hadn't taken it.
May you like
Which meant there was only one obvious possibility.
Evelyn.
