The Bigger Secret
Chapter 06 - The Bigger Secret
Evelyn read the rest of Marisol's message standing in her own driveway, Piper beside her, both of them still processing the specific shock of watching their family torn apart within a matter of hours.
*The initial estimate of four million dollars only covers documented transactions from the past eighteen months,* Marisol had written. *Forensic accountants believe the fund may have been operating for considerably longer than three years, potentially closer to seven, with total losses that could exceed twelve million dollars across the full timeline.*
Evelyn felt her knees nearly buckle at the number, considerably larger than what she'd braced herself for during the drive back to the house.
*There's something else,* Marisol's message continued. *One of the victims has come forward directly, requesting to speak with you personally. Her name is Carla Reyes. Her husband was killed in action four years ago. Ryan solicited her directly at his own memorial reception, using his connection to you specifically to gain her trust.*
Evelyn read that final sentence three times, the specific, devastating detail landing with a weight considerably heavier than any of the numbers that preceded it.
Ryan had attended a fallen soldier's memorial service, and used that grieving widow's trust in Evelyn's own reputation to steal from her.
"Mom," Piper said, watching her mother's face carefully. "What is it. What did Dad actually do."
Evelyn considered, for a moment, how much truth a seventeen-year-old should carry in a single afternoon, then decided, the same way she'd decided years ago never to lie to her own soldiers about difficult realities, that Piper deserved honesty even now.
"Your father's been stealing money," she said carefully, "from military families who trusted him. Families who lost someone in combat, or who were wounded serving this country. He used my name and my reputation to convince them to trust him."
Piper's face went pale, tears falling freely again. "That's why everyone's arresting him. Not just because of, because of what happened to your hair."
"That's part of it too," Evelyn said. "But yes, this is considerably bigger than what happened this morning."
Piper sat down heavily on the porch steps, absorbing an amount of devastating information that Evelyn understood no seventeen-year-old should reasonably be expected to process in a single afternoon.
"Is Grandma Linda part of it," Piper asked. "Is that why she was screaming like that."
"I believe so," Evelyn said. "I don't know the full extent of her involvement yet. I intend to find out, along with everyone else investigating this."
Farrah arrived a few minutes later, having driven over the moment Evelyn texted her the shape of what was unfolding, and found mother and daughter sitting together on the porch steps, both of them still absorbing a betrayal considerably larger than either of them had woken up prepared to survive.
May you like
"What do you need," Farrah asked simply, settling onto the steps beside them.
"I need to speak with Carla Reyes," Evelyn said. "As soon as possible. I need to look her in the eyes and understand exactly what my own family did to her, using my name as the weapon."
