Chapter 8
I couldn't believe what I'd heard.
Marissa turned toward her mother.
“Dessert?”
Diane blinked.
“I only mean—”
“Claire just told us about losing her daughter, Mom.”
“I know that.”
“And Derek assaulted Ryan and grabbed Claire. Nicole is leaving him. Tommy is terrified.”
Diane's eyes filled.
“Marissa, please don't use that tone.”
Marissa shook her head.
“No. That's exactly the problem.”
She pointed toward Derek.
“Every time he does something wrong, we have to pretend nothing happened because you don't want an uncomfortable conversation.”
Robert stood beside his daughter.
“She's right.”
Diane looked stunned.
For thirty-six years, her family had followed an unspoken rule.
Derek could behave however he wanted.
Everyone else had to keep the peace.
And suddenly, nobody was willing to follow that rule anymore.
Derek looked at his mother.
“Aren't you going to say something?”
Diane opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
Finally, she whispered, “You need to apologize.”
Derek stared at her.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
Her voice trembled.
“You hurt your brother. You humiliated Claire. And your wife has been suffering while I pretended not to notice.”
Derek's face hardened.
“So now you're against me too?”
Diane began crying.
“No. I'm your mother.”
She swallowed.
“But loving you doesn't mean defending everything you do.”
Something changed in Derek's expression.
For the first time, he looked less like an angry bully and more like a man realizing that the people around him would no longer protect him from the consequences of his behavior.
He looked at Ryan.
Then at me.
His mouth opened.
But before he could speak, Nicole's phone rang.
She glanced at the screen.
And went pale.
“It's my attorney.”
She answered.
Listened.
Then whispered, “Are you certain?”
Derek stared at her.
“What's going on?”
Nicole slowly lowered the phone.
Her hands shook.
“The bank finished its investigation.”
Robert frowned.
“What investigation?”
Nicole looked directly at Derek.
“The missing money wasn't the only thing they found.”
Derek took a step backward.
And then Nicole said five words that changed the entire family.
“Your father's account was involved.”
PART 5: THE TRUTH NO ONE EXPECTED
Robert stared at Nicole.
“My account?”
Derek immediately shook his head.
“That's ridiculous.”
Nicole didn't respond to him.
She looked at Robert.
“Did you authorize Derek to use your home equity line of credit?”
Robert's expression changed.
“No.”
Diane gripped the back of her chair.
Nicole continued.
“The bank found several transfers connected to an account Derek controlled. They contacted your financial institution because some of the authorization records didn't match.”