Chapter 2: The Money That Made My Son Tremble
"Why are you looking at me like that?"" Jayden demanded.
Marcus didn't answer immediately.
He was still watching our son, studying the fear that had replaced his usual arrogance.
"Because your mother just explained where the money came from," Marcus said.
"And you look like you already knew.""
"I don't know anything.""
"Then why did you bring it up?""
Jayden shoved his phone into his pocket.
"Because I saw the transfer!""
"Where?"" I asked.
He looked at me.
"In your account.""
"How did you get into my account?""
"I didn't hack anything.""
"That wasn't my question.""
His nostrils flared.
"You left your laptop open.""
I stared at him.
"My banking account was open on my laptop?""
He said nothing.
Marcus folded his arms.
"How long have you been looking through your mother's finances?""
"I'm not answering this.""
"You're going to answer it," Marcus replied.
Jayden turned toward the stairs.
I stepped away from Lily and stood between him and the hallway.
"Nobody is touching your things, and nobody is shouting at you. But you're not going to throw water in my face, search my private accounts, and then act like you're the victim.""
His expression hardened.
"You have no idea what you've done.""
The words were so unexpected that I almost laughed.
"What have I done, Jayden?""
He looked toward Marcus.
"Ask Uncle Terrence.""
"I will," Marcus said.
"But I'm asking you first.""
Jayden rubbed his forehead.
"You people always do this. You make decisions behind my back and then expect me to smile.""
"What decisions?"" I asked.
"About Grandma. About the money. About everything.""
Marcus stepped closer.
"Your grandmother has been dealing with financial problems for months. Your mother and Terrence have been helping her. What does that have to do with you?""
Jayden's lips pressed together.
Nothing about his expression suggested he was trying to understand.
He was calculating what to say next.
I had seen that look before, though never directed at me.
When Jayden was sixteen, he had broken a neighbor's window playing basketball. He'd spent the entire evening insisting the ball had slipped out of his hands accidentally. It wasn't until our neighbor showed us a video that he admitted he'd thrown it at the window because the man had told him to stop playing near his car.
Back then, his shame had been visible.
Now he seemed more frightened of being caught than sorry for anything he'd done.
"Jayden," I said softly, "what are you hiding?""
"Nothing.""
"Look at me.""
He did.
For a second, I saw the child he'd once been.
Then his face closed again.
"You're always trying to make me look bad.""
I shook my head.
"You don't need my help with that.""
His eyes flashed.
"Wow.""
Marcus raised a hand.
"Enough. Denise, take Lily upstairs and get her ready for dance class. I'll talk to him.""
I looked at my husband.
I didn't want to leave him alone with Jayden, but Lily was trembling so hard that her dance ribbons kept slipping from her fingers.
"Come on, baby," I whispered.
She took my hand.
As we walked toward the stairs, Jayden called after me.
"Mom?""
I stopped.
His voice had changed.
For a brief moment, he sounded like the little boy who used to call me from the dark when he had a nightmare.
"Don't tell Uncle Terrence anything yet.""
I turned around.
"Why?""
He swallowed.
"Because he won't believe you.""
I studied his face.
"Believe me about what?""
He looked away.
"Nothing. Forget it.""
Then he walked past Marcus and disappeared into the living room.
Marcus followed him.
I took Lily upstairs.
In her bedroom, I helped her change into her dance outfit. She sat quietly on the edge of her bed, holding the pink ribbons in her lap.
"Mommy?""
I knelt in front of her.
"Yes, sweetheart?""
"Is Jayden mad because you don't love him anymore?""
The question struck so deeply that I had to steady myself with one hand against her mattress.
"Oh, baby. No.""
"Then why did he hurt you?""
I brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead.
"Sometimes grown-ups make bad choices when they're angry. But that doesn't mean it's okay to hurt somebody.""
"Is he going to throw water at me too?""
My throat tightened.
"No one is allowed to hurt you. Not Jayden, not anybody.""
She studied my face.
"Promise?""
"I promise I'll do everything I can to keep you safe.""
She leaned forward and hugged me.
I held her for several seconds longer than usual.
When I finally stood, my eyes landed on the small framed photograph beside her lamp.
It showed Jayden at twelve, carrying Lily in his arms at the hospital after her birth. He had begged to hold her before we left the maternity ward, and he'd cried when the nurse finally placed his baby sister against his chest.
"I'll protect her forever," he'd told us.
I picked up the frame.
What had happened to that boy?
My phone vibrated.
A message from Terrence appeared.
*DENISE, DID YOU SPEAK TO MARCUS YET? WE HAVE A PROBLEM. CALL ME BEFORE NOON.*
I immediately called him.
He answered on the second ring.
"Denise?""
"Terrence, Jayden found the transfer.""
Silence.
Then, "How?""
"He was going through my laptop.""
"Did he see the account statement?""
"Only the transfer notification, as far as I know.""
Terrence exhaled sharply.
"Listen to me. Don't let him delete anything. Don't let him access your computer again. And whatever you do, don't confront him about the other account until I get there.""
My hand tightened around the phone.
"What other account?""
He stopped speaking.
"Terrence?""
"Denise, I thought Marcus had already told you.""
"Told me what?""
Another pause.
Then he said something that made the room seem to tilt around me.
"Your son's name appeared on the withdrawal authorization.""
I sat down slowly on Lily's bed.
"What authorization?""
"The one used to transfer the money out of your mother-in-law's retirement account.""
I stared at the wall.
"That doesn't make sense. Jayden never had access to her accounts.""
"He may not have had access to the account itself. But the bank received paperwork authorizing a representative to act on her behalf.""
"Who signed it?""
"That's what we're trying to establish.""
My mouth had gone dry.
"Are you saying Jayden stole Grandma's money?""
"I'm saying his name is on a document connected to the withdrawal. We need to verify the signature and establish how it got there.""
I pressed my fingers against my forehead.
For months, we'd been trying to understand how Marcus's mother, Eleanor, had lost a large portion of the retirement savings she'd spent decades building.
She was seventy-four, a retired school librarian who still wrote birthday cards by hand and kept emergency cash inside an old sewing tin.
When she'd first discovered the missing money, she'd blamed herself.
"I must have forgotten something," she'd told us over coffee.
But the withdrawals had continued, and the bank statements showed transfers she didn't recognize.
Terrence, who worked as an accountant, had offered to help trace them.
We'd promised Eleanor we'd investigate quietly until we understood what had happened.
Now Jayden's name was connected to the paperwork.
"Does Marcus know?"" I asked.
"Not yet. I wanted to confirm the documents before telling him.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I wasn't certain Jayden had actually signed anything. His name was listed as an authorized representative, but the signature needs forensic review.""
I looked toward Lily's doorway.
"Terrence, my son just threw water in my face and then threatened me with a bank transfer. I think he's involved.""
"I need you to listen carefully," Terrence said.
"Do not accuse him of theft until we have proof. And don't let him know which documents we have.""
"Why?""
"Because someone has been trying to access the evidence.""
A cold feeling crept up my arms.
"Someone?""
"Two days ago, the bank received a request to change the contact information on Eleanor's account. The request was denied, but whoever submitted it had information they shouldn't have had.""
I closed my eyes.
"Who submitted it?""
"We're waiting for the bank's records.""
Then Terrence lowered his voice.
"Denise, there's something else. Eleanor called me last night. She said Jayden visited her three weeks ago and asked her to sign some papers.""
My heart began to pound.
"What papers?""
"She doesn't remember exactly. She thought they were related to insurance.""
I stood so quickly that Lily looked up from her ribbons.
"Did she sign them?""
"She thinks she did.""
I pressed a hand over my mouth.
Terrence continued.
"Denise, we may be dealing with more than one unauthorized withdrawal.""
Before I could respond, I heard Marcus calling my name from downstairs.
His voice sounded strained.
"Denise! Come down here. Right now!""
I ended the call and hurried to the landing.
Marcus stood at the bottom of the stairs holding Jayden's laptop.
Our son was nowhere in sight.
"What happened?"" I asked.
Marcus looked at the computer screen.
"Jayden's gone.""
My stomach dropped.
"What do you mean, gone?""
"He took his keys and left through the garage. But before he did, I found this open on his laptop.""
He turned the screen toward me.
It was a scanned document bearing Eleanor's name.
Beneath her name was a signature authorizing a transfer of funds.
And beside the signature, in a section marked *AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE*, was Jayden's full legal name.
I leaned closer.
The document was dated three weeks earlier.
The same week Eleanor had told us Jayden visited her.
Marcus's voice became barely audible.
"Denise, look at the signature.""
I did.
Then my knees nearly buckled.
Because the signature at the bottom of the document looked exactly like Eleanor's.
But I knew something the bank didn't.
Eleanor had broken her right wrist six months earlier.
May you like
Since then, she had signed every document with her left hand.
And the signature on that page had been written with her right.
