Chapter 8: The Daughter Nobody Was Allowed to Mention
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The clock above Grandma's fireplace continued ticking. A car passed outside, its headlights sliding across the closed curtains.
Tasha looked at my mother as if she'd begun speaking another language.
“Dad has another child?””
My mother nodded.
“A daughter.””
“Who is she?””
“I don't know where she lives now.””
“What's her name?””
Mom looked toward Grandma.
Grandma answered quietly.
“Emily Cole.””
Tasha lowered herself onto the sofa.
I sat beside her, but she didn't seem to notice.
“How old is she?””
“Twenty-four,” Grandma said.
Tasha stared at the floor.
“She's five years older than me.””
“Yes.””
“And Dad never told me?””
“No.””
Tasha laughed once, a hollow, disbelieving sound.
“He told me I was the only child he had to take care of.””
My mother covered her mouth.
“He said Emily's mother had taken her away after the divorce. He said he didn't have contact with them anymore.””
“Then why was he paying Vanessa?””
Nobody answered.
Tasha reached for the documents on the table and began searching through them.
“There's a transfer here from two years ago. Twenty thousand dollars. Another one for twelve thousand.””
She looked at Grandma.
“Are these payments to Vanessa?””
Grandma leaned forward.
“Some of them appear to be.””
Tasha's fingers trembled.
“Did Dad use my money to support another family?””
My mother began crying again.
“I don't know exactly what the money was for.””
“But you knew about Vanessa.””
“I knew her name. I didn't know everything.””
Tasha turned toward her.
“Did you know Dad had a daughter?””
Mom nodded.
“Yes.””
The answer seemed to hurt Tasha more than anything else.
She stood and walked to the fireplace.
“You knew I had a sister.””
“I didn't know what to call her,” Mom whispered.
“Marcus told me their relationship was complicated. He said Vanessa had made it impossible for him to see Emily.””
“So you decided not to tell me?””
“He said it would only confuse you.””
Tasha turned.
“I was twelve when you married Dad. I was old enough to understand that he had been married before.””
“I know.””
“Then why did everyone act like his first family didn't exist?””
Mom couldn't answer.
I looked at Grandma.
“Did Elise know about Emily?””
Grandma nodded.
“She knew Marcus had a daughter from his first marriage. She believed he was paying child support, as he should have. But when she discovered the payments coming from the trust, she became concerned.””
Tasha's eyes widened.
“Child support?””
“Some payments may have been legitimate obligations. The problem is that they appear to have been taken from your trust rather than from Marcus's personal income. We need the records to determine what was lawful and what was not.””
Tasha stared at the statements.
“So he used my money to pay his responsibilities to someone else.””
“Possibly,” Grandma said.
“We need to be careful about drawing conclusions before the accounts are reviewed.””
Tasha sat down again.
I could see her struggling to process everything.
Her father had told her there wasn't enough money for college. He had used her inheritance to buy me a car. He had transferred property that had belonged to her mother. Now we were discovering that some of the money might have been used to support a daughter he had kept secret.
It was almost too much to believe.
My phone vibrated again.
This time, Marcus had sent a text.
Bring Tasha home. We need to discuss Emily before she hears a distorted version from someone else.
Tasha read it over my shoulder.
“Emily knows?””
I shook my head.
“I don't know.””
She looked at my mother.
“Has Dad been in contact with her?””
Mom hesitated.
Then she nodded.
“Yes.””
Tasha's face hardened.
“How long?””
“I don't know.””
“Mom!””
“I swear I don't know the details. I only know he received calls from Vanessa. Sometimes he left the house to meet her. He told me he was trying to settle an old financial dispute.””
“What dispute?””
My mother stared at the floor.
“He said Vanessa believed he owed her money from their divorce.””
Tasha's voice rose.
“And he used my inheritance to pay her?””
“I don't know.””
“Did you ever ask him?””
“Yes.””
“What did he say?””
“He said the payments were temporary.””
Tasha let out a bitter laugh.
“Everything was temporary. The money was temporary. The lies were temporary. The promises were temporary.””
She pressed her hands against her eyes.
“I don't know which parts of my life were real anymore.””
I moved closer.
“Tasha, you don't have to figure it all out tonight.””
She lowered her hands.
“But I need to know who my sister is.””
Grandma looked at the documents.
“Perhaps Patricia can help us locate her.””
Tasha shook her head.
“I don't want an attorney to tell me who my sister is. I want to hear it from her.””
I looked at her.
“Then we'll try to find her.””
My mother stood abruptly.
“No.””
Tasha turned.
“Why not?””
“Because contacting Emily will make this worse.””
“How?””
Mom hesitated.
“Marcus believes Vanessa has been using Emily to pressure him for money.””
Tasha stared at her.
“Or maybe Vanessa is asking for money he actually owes.””
“You don't know her,” Mom said.
“Neither do you!””
My mother recoiled.
Tasha's voice softened, but the hurt remained.
“You keep defending people you barely know while expecting me to accept whatever happens to me.””
Mom sank back into her chair.
“I don't know how to fix this.””
Tasha looked at her for a long moment.
“Then stop trying to control what I learn.””
She turned to me.
“Can we go?””
I nodded.
We spent the night at Grandma's house.
At seven the next morning, Tasha called Patricia and explained what we'd discovered. The attorney listened carefully, then asked us to bring every document to her office.
When we arrived, she was already waiting with a second attorney, a woman named Denise Walker who specialized in trust disputes.
Denise reviewed the records for nearly forty minutes.
Finally, she looked at Tasha.
“There are several issues here. We have evidence of substantial transfers, questions about the property transaction, and a potential conflict between your father's personal interests and his duties as trustee.””
Tasha nodded.
“What happens now?””
“We request a complete accounting, preserve the records, and determine whether the trustee has breached his obligations. We can also ask the financial institution about safeguards against further unauthorized withdrawals.””
“Can I stop him from accessing the account?””
“That may be possible, depending on the trust terms and the bank's procedures. We need to act quickly.””
Denise slid a document across the desk.
“This authorizes us to request the relevant records on your behalf. Read it carefully before signing.””
Tasha read every page.
Then she signed.
Her hand shook slightly, but she didn't hesitate.
Patricia placed the signed document in the file.
“There is one more thing,” she said.
“Your mother's sealed instructions.””
Tasha straightened.
“You found them?””
“Yes. Elise left a separate envelope with our office. She directed us not to release it unless there was credible evidence that the trust had been misused or that you needed protection from financial pressure.””
Tasha's face tightened.
“And you believe that condition has been met?””
Patricia nodded.
She opened a locked cabinet and removed a thick envelope sealed with red wax.
Tasha stared at it.
Her mother's name was written across the front.
Beneath it were the words:
To be opened only for my daughter, Tasha Reed.
Patricia placed it on the desk.
“Your mother asked that you read this in the presence of an attorney. There may be information here that affects your legal options.””
Tasha broke the seal.
Inside were several pages and a small photograph.
The first page contained a letter.
The second contained a list of financial transactions.
The third was a handwritten statement describing a conversation between Elise and Vanessa Cole.
Tasha began reading.
Then she stopped.
“What is it?”” I asked.
She turned the photograph toward me.
It showed Elise standing beside a younger woman with dark hair and a wide smile. They were outside a small café, both holding paper cups.
On the back, Elise had written a date.
And beneath it:
Vanessa finally told me the truth.
Tasha looked at Patricia.
“Why was my mother meeting Dad's first wife?””
Patricia took a breath.
“Because Vanessa contacted her several months before she died.””
“What did she tell her?””
“According to Elise's notes, Vanessa claimed that Marcus had used money from their divorce settlement to start his business. She believed he had also concealed assets during their marriage.””
Tasha looked down at the financial statement.
“Then Mom was investigating him before the trust money disappeared?””
“Possibly. The records suggest she was already concerned about his financial conduct.””
Tasha read the final page.
Her face became pale.
“What does this mean?””
She slid the paper toward Denise.
The attorney read it carefully.
Then she looked up.
“Your mother appears to have documented a pattern of unexplained transfers involving multiple accounts. This could be important evidence.””
Tasha pointed to the last entry.
“But this payment was made after Mom died.””
Denise nodded.
“Yes.””
The payment was listed as a transfer to Vanessa Cole for $18,500.
The date was six weeks after Elise's death.
Tasha looked at Patricia.
“Why would Dad pay Vanessa after Mom died?””
Patricia studied the record.
“I don't know yet.””
Tasha stared at the paper.
Then she noticed a handwritten note beside the transaction.
It had been added in Elise's handwriting, apparently before her death.
The note read:
If Marcus continues these payments after I'm gone, ask Vanessa what he promised Emily.
Tasha's mouth fell open.
“What did he promise her?””
Patricia turned to Denise.
“We need to locate Vanessa and Emily.””
Tasha looked at the photograph again.
For the first time, she seemed less frightened than determined.
“Find them,” she said.
Denise nodded.
“We'll make inquiries through the proper channels.””
But before we left the office, Tasha's phone rang.
An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen.
She answered cautiously.
“Hello?””
A woman's voice came through.
“Is this Tasha Reed?””
“Yes.””
“My name is Emily Cole.””
Tasha stopped breathing.
I reached for her hand.
Emily continued, her voice strained.
“I think we need to talk about your father.””
Tasha closed her eyes.
“What do you know?””
There was a long pause.
Then Emily whispered, “I know he told your mother one story, my mother another story, and me something completely different.””
Tasha gripped the phone.
“Why are you calling me now?””
“Because I saw a photograph of your birthday car online. Someone posted it, and I recognized the dealership.””
My stomach tightened.
Emily continued.
“My mother told me years ago that Marcus had promised to pay me money he owed from their divorce. He told her the payments were being handled through a family trust.””
Tasha's eyes widened.
“Whose trust?””
“Yours.””
Tasha looked at Patricia.
Emily's next words were barely audible.
“I think your father has been using your inheritance to pay his debts to my mother for years.””
Tasha sat down heavily.
Then Emily added one final sentence.
“But that's not why I'm calling.””
Tasha swallowed.
“Then why?””
“Because my mother just received a letter from Marcus.””
A pause.
“He says if she doesn't return the money he paid her, he'll report her for fraud.””
Tasha's fingers tightened around the phone.
“Why would he do that?””
May you like
Emily's answer made every person in the office go silent.
“Because my mother has the original document proving that the money in your trust was never supposed to belong to him in the first place.””
