Chapter 7 - The Cup on the Floor
The final confrontation began with a bank letter.
Marcus had contacted the bank and asked them to alert him if suspicious activity appeared on Margaret’s accounts. Because he was not an account holder, they could reveal very little. However, they agreed to contact Margaret directly.
The bank sent a fraud questionnaire by certified mail.
Margaret received it before Dana could intercept it.
She opened the envelope and discovered a list of transactions totaling more than eleven thousand dollars.
There were purchases she had never made, cash withdrawals she did not remember, and payments to a storage facility outside town.
When Dana entered the living room, Margaret was waiting with the documents in her lap.
“You stole from me.”
Dana stopped.
“Those are household expenses.”
“Not these.”
Margaret pointed to three large withdrawals.
Dana reached for the papers, but Margaret pulled them away.
“I’m calling Marcus.”
“You need to calm down.”
“I have been calm for months.”
Margaret stood carefully, using the sofa for support.
“I allowed you to convince me that I was weak. I allowed you to speak for me. I even allowed you to make me afraid of my own son.”
Dana’s jaw tightened.
“You signed authorizations.”
“I never authorized theft.”
“You cannot prove I took anything.”
“The bank can.”
Margaret reached toward the phone.
Dana grabbed it first and threw it onto the sofa.
A cup fell from the side table and shattered on the floor.
Dana stepped closer, pointing at Margaret.
“If you call your son again, you’ll regret it.”
Neither woman noticed the tiny red light blinking inside the decorative bird on the bookshelf.
Margaret looked toward the front door.
Dana followed her gaze.
“Do you think he’ll believe you over the person who has documented your confusion for months?”
Margaret’s hand moved slowly beneath the table.
May you like
Her fingers found the emergency button.
She pressed it.
