Chapter 7 - the night before daniel died)
Tyler came home at six thirty Friday evening.
Emily was waiting.
Ruth was at church organizing flowers for Sunday.
Khloe was still safely with Sarah.
The house felt unnaturally quiet.
Tyler walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and said, "Where's Khloe?"
"Sarah's."
He glanced at Emily.
"Why?"
"Sleepover."
He took out a beer.
Emily watched him open it.
"Did Daniel see you the night before he died?"
The bottle stopped halfway to his mouth.
His eyes met hers.
That was enough.
Emily's stomach tightened.
"He did."
Tyler drank.
"Who told you?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Because nobody knows."
"Apparently somebody does."
Tyler set the bottle down.
"You're doing that thing Mom warned me about."
"What thing?"
"Turning everything into a conspiracy."
Emily almost smiled.
"You mean the conspiracy where you steal money from a seven year old, create a company to take my house, and help your mother forge guardianship papers?"
Tyler's face hardened.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Emily pulled out her phone.
He saw the photograph of Walker Family Holdings.
His expression changed.
"Where did you get that?"
"Public records."
Tyler looked toward the hallway.
Ruth was not home.
"Emily."
"Why did Daniel see you?"
Tyler rubbed his face.
"It wasn't a big deal."
"Then tell me."
"He wanted money."
Emily knew immediately it was a lie.
"Daniel had money."
"Not like you think."
"Try again."
Tyler grabbed his beer.
Emily said, "He removed Ruth from Khloe's trust."
The bottle slipped slightly in Tyler's hand.
"Who told you that?"
"Daniel."
Tyler stared.
Emily continued.
"He left records."
Tyler's fear became visible.
"What records?"
"Enough."
"What did he say about me?"
Emily understood.
Tyler was not afraid of the trust.
He was afraid Daniel had documented something else.
"What should he have said?"
Tyler's jaw clenched.
"Nothing."
"Then why are you scared?"
"I'm not."
"Did you threaten him?"
Tyler stood.
"Careful."
Emily remained seated.
"Did Ruth?"
"No."
"Did you ask Daniel for money?"
Tyler laughed bitterly.
"Everybody acts like Daniel was some saint."
"I didn't ask if he was a saint."
"He thought he was better than us."
"He paid your rent twice."
Tyler looked away.
"He helped you open the garage."
Silence.
"He covered your taxes."
"Stop."
"How much did you owe?"
Tyler slammed the bottle down.
"I said stop."
Emily did not flinch.
For years Tyler had performed anger like a weapon.
People backed away.
Daniel often did.
Ruth always soothed him.
Emily suddenly saw how well the system worked.
Tyler exploded.
Ruth explained.
Everyone else adjusted.
Not anymore.
"How much?"
Tyler breathed heavily.
"Two hundred eighty."
Emily stared.
"Two hundred eighty thousand?"
He said nothing.
"How?"
"Business."
"That garage never earned enough to borrow that much."
Tyler looked toward the window.
Emily understood.
"Gambling?"
His face tightened.
"Investments."
"Sports?"
"Don't."
"Daniel found out."
Tyler grabbed the bottle again.
"Yes."
"What happened the night before he died?"
"He came to my apartment."
"Why?"
"He had copies of my loan records."
"From where?"
"Mom."
Emily blinked.
"Ruth gave them to him?"
"No. He found them in her house."
Tyler paced.
"He found out she had been paying people for me."
"With what money?"
"Dad's insurance."
"Her own money."
"Yeah."
"How much was left?"
Tyler laughed once.
"Almost nothing."
Emily understood the pressure.
Ruth had depleted her own resources saving Tyler.
Then turned toward Daniel's.
Then Khloe's.
"What did Daniel say?"
Tyler looked angry at the memory.
"He said he was done."
"Done with what?"
"Helping."
Emily waited.
"He told me to sell the garage. File bankruptcy if I had to. Get treatment."
"For gambling."
Tyler looked away.
"He said if Mom gave me one more dollar, he would take over her finances."
Emily almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
"What did you do?"
"We argued."
"Did you threaten him?"
Tyler did not answer.
"Tyler."
"I told him he'd regret humiliating me."
Emily's pulse quickened.
"What exactly did you say?"
"I don't remember."
"You do."
Tyler stared at her.
"I said if he turned the family against me, I would make sure he lost something too."
Emily felt cold.
"The next morning he died."
Tyler's face twisted.
"You think I killed my brother?"
"I asked what happened."
"He left."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"Where did he go?"
"I don't know."
"You didn't follow him?"
"No."
"Ruth?"
"No."
Emily studied him.
His shame looked real.
But so did his fear.
"Who knows about the meeting?"
"No one."
"Someone does."
Tyler frowned.
Emily showed him the message.
His face changed when he read Evan Price's name.
"Where did you hear that name?"
"Denise."
Tyler cursed.
"So you know him."
"He did accounting work for the garage."
"And Morrow."
Tyler looked away.
"Yeah."
"Has he been messaging me?"
"I don't know."
"You do."
"He hates me."
"Why?"
Tyler became quiet.
Then he laughed.
"Because I owe him money too."
Emily stared.
"How much?"
"Fifteen."
"Thousand?"
"Yes."
"Does he know about Sunday?"
Tyler hesitated.
Emily saw the answer.
"You told him."
"I needed help with the title package."
"He refused?"
"Eventually."
"What does eventually mean?"
"He prepared some paperwork."
Emily's anger rose.
"How many people are in this?"
"Nobody planned to hurt you."
"Stop saying that as if taking my daughter doesn't count."
Tyler slammed his palm on the counter.
"Mom thinks she's saving Khloe."
"From me?"
"From losing everything."
"To your debts."
Tyler shook his head.
"She thinks the Walker property should stay Walker property."
"Khloe is a Walker."
"So am I."
There it was.
Emily stared at him.
"This is about what you think Daniel owed you."
Tyler's face hardened.
"He got everything."
"What did he get?"
"Grandpa's commercial building. Dad's respect. Mom's trust."
"Daniel worked for that building for twelve years."
"It should have been split."
"Your grandfather's will says otherwise."
"Because Daniel manipulated him."
Emily almost laughed.
"Daniel was twenty two."
"Exactly."
Tyler stepped closer.
"He was always the good one. The responsible one. The one who got married and bought the perfect house and had the perfect daughter."
His voice cracked.
"And every time I screwed up, Mom looked at him."
Emily finally saw the shape of Tyler's resentment.
It had not begun after Daniel died.
Daniel's death had simply removed the person Tyler measured himself against.
"And now you want his life."
Tyler stared.
"No."
"You want his house."
"No."
"His property."
"Stop."
"His daughter's trust."
Tyler's eyes flashed.
"I said stop."
The front door opened.
Both turned.
Ruth walked in.
She saw them standing face to face.
Her gaze dropped to Emily's phone.
Then to Tyler.
"What did you tell her?"
Tyler said nothing.
Ruth's voice sharpened.
"What did you tell her?"
Emily answered.
"Enough."
Ruth looked at her.
Emily smiled.
"I'll see you Sunday."
Then she walked upstairs.
Behind her, Ruth hissed, "You idiot."
Tyler said something too low to hear.
Emily entered her bedroom and locked the door.
Her phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
Tyler didn't kill Daniel.
Emily stared.
Another message.
But Daniel found something in Tyler's books that scared him more than the gambling.
Emily typed.
What?
The reply came immediately.
Ask who had been taking money from Daniel's commercial property before he died.
Emily sat slowly.
May you like
She had assumed Ruth wanted access to the trust because she needed money.
Now she wondered if the theft had begun before Daniel's death.
