Chapter 3 - Elena’s Silence
Daniel helped Elena upstairs while Mia and Brent whispered in the kitchen.
In the bedroom, he placed a glass of water beside Elena and called her doctor. The doctor instructed him to give her a light meal, monitor her condition, and bring her in the following morning.
Daniel found an emergency packet of oatmeal in his travel bag and prepared it.
Elena ate slowly.
Daniel sat beside her.
“How long has this been happening?”
Elena stared at the bowl.
“Mia was kind at first.”
“And then?”
“She said she needed money for gas. Then she said Brent’s car required repairs. After that, she began asking for my passwords.”
“Did you give them to her?”
“I gave her the password to the grocery account because I was too weak to go downstairs.”
Daniel waited.
Elena’s fingers tightened around the spoon.
“She asked for the emergency card. I reminded her it was only for medicine and food.”
“How much did she spend?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel opened the banking application on his phone.
The household account showed a balance of twelve dollars.
The emergency savings account showed less than one hundred.
His business travel account, which should have held several thousand dollars, had also been accessed.
Daniel felt the room tilt.
“Elena, did you authorize transfers from my business account?”
“No.”
“Did you give her the password?”
“No.”
He scrolled through the transactions.
Payments had gone to luxury stores, electronics retailers, a resort, restaurants, and an online investment platform he did not recognize.
Some transfers had been divided into small amounts, as if someone had hoped Daniel would not notice them.
Elena began crying quietly.
“I was ashamed.”
“Of what?”
“I raised her.”
Daniel took her hand.
“Mia made these choices. Not you.”
Elena looked toward the bedroom door.
“She took my phone whenever I tried to call you. She said stress would make me worse.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“Did she threaten you?”
“No. She just kept telling me I was confused. She said the medicine was making me imagine things.”
Daniel remembered Mia’s casual smile in the kitchen.
He understood then that this was not simply reckless spending.
Mia had isolated her mother, controlled her access to money, and tried to make her doubt her own memory.
May you like
Daniel kissed Elena’s forehead.
“You are not confused.”
