Chapter 6 - What Brian Never Knew
Brian flipped through page after page.
“Mom said she paid for the reunions.”
Natalie stared at him.
“What?”
“She always said you handled the reservations because you got corporate discounts.”
Natalie almost laughed.
“No.”
“She told everyone she covered the cabins.”
Brian turned another page.
“Christmas 2024.”
“That was our flight.”
“Yes.”
“Mom told Melissa she bought those tickets.”
“She asked me to.”
He looked stunned.
“What about the furnace?”
“I paid for it.”
“The roof?”
“Me.”
“Her hospital deductible?”
“Me.”
Brian sat back.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Natalie watched years of assumptions collapse across his face.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“Because I wasn’t helping for applause.”
Brian rubbed his forehead.
Then he stopped on an entry from two years earlier.
$18,000.
CAROLINA CREDIT UNION.
“What’s this?”
Natalie hesitated.
“Mom almost lost the house.”
Brian looked up sharply.
“What?”
“She had taken out a home-equity loan and stopped making payments.”
“Why?”
“She said expenses got away from her.”
Natalie now wondered whether that had been true.
“I paid the arrears.”
Brian stared toward the living room.
Lena was sitting on the carpet drawing.
“She let you do all this.”
“Yes.”
“And then said your kid wasn’t family.”
“Yes.”
His jaw tightened.
“I should have said something at the restaurant.”
Natalie did not rescue him from that truth.
“Yes.”
He looked at her.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For sitting there.”
“For telling myself Mom was just being Mom.”
Natalie closed the ledger.
“That phrase has protected her for thirty years.”
Brian nodded.
Then he said something unexpected.
“Mom has been asking me for money since you canceled the cabins.”
“Then help her if you want.”
“I don’t have eleven thousand dollars.”
“That’s not my problem.”
He flinched.
Natalie softened slightly.
“I’m not punishing you.”
“I’m just done being responsible for everyone.”
Brian looked down.
“Does that include me?”
“Yes.”
It hurt to say.
But it was true.
Brian nodded slowly.
Then his phone buzzed.
Diane.
He looked at the screen.
“Do you want me to tell her I know?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Natalie looked toward Lena.
“Because I want to know how far she’ll go before she realizes nobody is paying for her anymore.”
Brian left an hour later.
That evening, he forwarded Natalie a text Diane had sent him.
Don’t let Natalie show anyone her fake little accounting records.
She’s trying to make me look dependent.
Then another.
CPS hasn’t finished with her yet.
Natalie stared at the message.
Diane still believed the investigation was open against Natalie.
She had no idea CPS was now examining her evidence instead.
May you like
But Diane was about to make an even bigger mistake.
She contacted Lena’s school.
