My phone buzzed. Inez.
I stepped outside the workshop.
“Tell me.”
“The house is protected,” she said. “There’s a family trust.”
“We just found the paper copies.”
“Good. The accounts are messier. Your transfers are going into an account where your parents are still named, but Derek has a financial power of attorney on it. He can withdraw.”
“How much has he taken?”
“I’m still reconstructing it. I’ve already asked for temporary restrictions on the account. But Gabriel, listen to me before you assume the worst.”
I looked through the dusty window at my parents.
“Most of the spending I see isn’t luxury spending,” Inez said. “Fees. Groceries. Utilities. Insurance. Medical. A truck payment. There are withdrawals that need explaining. But this doesn’t look like someone emptied an account and bought a sports car.”
“That makes it better?”
“No,” she said. “It makes it more complicated.”
I hate complicated. Complicated means I can’t just be angry.
“Can you come tomorrow?”
“I’ll be there by ten.”
When I went back inside, Mom looked worried.
“Gabriel, Derek needs that money for—”
“For what, Mom?”
She stopped.
Dad answered.
“His business.”
“What business?”
Mom and Dad looked at each other.
I almost laughed. “How many secrets are there in this family?”
“Not secrets,” Mom said softly. “Things we hoped would work themselves out.”
“Mom. That’s the family definition of a secret.”
Dad almost smiled. Then he got serious.
“Derek’s been restoring furniture.”
I blinked.
Derek hated woodworking when we were kids. He complained about sanding. He hated the smell of lacquer. He once told Dad he’d rather dig ditches than spend his life building chairs.
“He rents a space behind an antique shop across town,” Dad said. “He’s good, mijo. He wanted to prove he could make it work before he told you.”
“With money I sent for you.”
“He borrowed it,” Dad said.
“Did you agree to that?”
Silence.
There was my answer.
Ethan Blake is a skilled Creative Content Specialist with a talent for crafting engaging and thought-provoking narratives. With a strong background in storytelling and digital content creation, Ethan brings a unique perspective to his role at TheArchivists, where he curates and produces captivating content for a global audience.
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