Chapter 5 - THE BIRTHDAY MY FATHER ERASED
"What does that even mean?"
Valerie stood in the storage hallway with tears gathering in her eyes.
"You signed away your name?"
She looked toward Arthur.
"Tell her."
The old man lowered his gaze.
"Valerie, that's your story to tell."
"My story?" she repeated bitterly. "Everybody else has been telling it for fifteen years."
I clutched Dad's watch.
"Then tell me yourself."
Valerie leaned against the wall.
For a moment, she looked like the little girl who used to follow me around our backyard.
Then she began.
"On my eighteenth birthday, Dad took me to Richard Sloan's office."
I remembered that day.
I'd been preparing to leave for college.
Valerie had complained that Dad wanted her to help with paperwork instead of taking her to dinner.
I'd teased her about finally becoming an adult.
She hadn't laughed.
"Richard had documents waiting," Valerie continued.
"He said the company needed another authorized family member to hold some shares temporarily."
"Why you?"
"Because Dad wouldn't let Mom sign."
My stomach tightened.
"Why not?"
"Because he said he didn't want her dragged into the lawsuits."
Valerie wiped her face.
"He told me signing would protect the family."
I looked at Arthur.
He nodded reluctantly.
"Michael was under tremendous pressure."
"That doesn't excuse using his daughter."
"No," Arthur said. "It doesn't."
Valerie continued.
"The documents made me a nominee shareholder in a company called Bennett Property Services."
She swallowed.
"Later, Richard used that company to move money."
I stared at her.
"Your name was on those accounts?"
"Yes."
"And you didn't tell anyone?"
"I was eighteen, Chloe. I didn't understand what I'd signed."
There was anger in her voice.
But beneath it was something else.
Shame.
I remembered every time I'd called her irresponsible.
Every time Dad had defended her.
I'd assumed he was protecting his favorite daughter.
Now I wondered whether he had been trying to repair the damage he'd caused.
"Why didn't you tell me when you got older?"
Valerie's face hardened.
"Because by then, Richard had enough paperwork to blame me for everything."
"Everything?"
"The transfers. The missing funds. The false invoices."
She glanced at my bag.
"Dad found out Richard was using my name. He confronted him."
"And recovered the money?"
"Some of it."
I thought of Mom's hospital bed.
"Then explain why you kept our mother sedated."
Valerie looked away.
There it was.
The question she couldn't avoid.
"I didn't mean for her to get that sick."
I felt something inside me break.
"You put her beside a furnace."
"She wouldn't stay upstairs!"
"She owns the house!"
"She kept trying to leave!"
"Because she was afraid of you!"
Valerie flinched.
Good.
I wanted those words to hurt.
"Mom started finding old records," she said quietly. "She remembered things Dad had hidden."
"Then you should have helped her."
"I was trying to keep Richard from finding out."
I shook my head.
"You keep blaming Richard. But I saw those pills."
Valerie pressed her hands against her face.
"At first, Dr. Whitcomb prescribed something for her sleep. Then she started waking up confused. He told me to increase it."
"Did you question him?"
"Not enough."
"Did you call another doctor?"
"No."
"Did you tell me?"
She shook her head.
My eyes burned.
"Then whatever Richard did, you made your own choices."
She finally looked at me.
"I know."
That admission surprised me.
No excuses.
No rehearsed speech.
Just two words.
I wanted to believe they meant something.
But Mom's condition was still uncertain.
"Why rent out the bedrooms?" I asked.
Valerie swallowed.
"Because Richard stopped paying me."
I frowned.
"Paying you for what?"
"For keeping the accounts quiet."
Arthur turned sharply.
"Valerie."
She ignored him.
"Richard promised Dad he would close the company after the dispute. Instead, he kept using it. Every year, he'd send me enough to cover the taxes and Mom's expenses."
I stared.
"I paid Mom's expenses."
Valerie lowered her head.
"Yes."
My stomach twisted.
"Where did my money go?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Then she whispered:
"Into an account Richard controlled."
I felt sick.
Six years of transfers.
Mortgage payments.
Medical expenses.
Home repairs.
I'd believed I was protecting Mom.
But some of that money had been diverted.
"How much?"
Valerie's eyes filled again.
"I don't know exactly."
"How much, Valerie?"
"Maybe two hundred thousand."
I stepped backward.
My sister reached for me.
I pulled away.
"Don't."
She let her hand fall.
Arthur cleared his throat.
"The watch may explain some of it."
I turned.
"What?"
He pointed toward Dad's pocket watch.
"Michael had it repaired shortly before he died. He told me the repairman added something inside."
I opened the watch.
The hands had stopped at 10:18.
October eighteenth.
Valerie's birthday.
I pressed the small release on the back.
Nothing happened.
Arthur took it gently.
He examined the edge.
Then pushed a nearly invisible latch.
A second compartment opened.
Inside was a tiny folded strip of paper.
I unfolded it.
There were six numbers.
And beneath them, two words.
Eleanor's consent.
Valerie grabbed the wall.
"No."
I looked at her.
"What?"
"Richard told me that document was destroyed."
I read the note again.
"What document?"
Valerie stared at the paper.
"The one Mom signed after Dad discovered what Richard had done."
I frowned.
"Mom signed something?"
Valerie nodded.
"She agreed to put the recovered money somewhere Richard couldn't reach."
"Where?"
My sister looked toward the jewelry case.
Then toward the pink winter coat.
"That's why Dad kept your coat."
I stared at her.
"Why?"
"Because the account wasn't opened in Mom's name."
Valerie's voice dropped.
"It was opened in yours."
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
May you like
"Chloe, Richard wasn't trying to steal Mom's house."
"He was trying to prove that you stole his money."
