I corrected him, checking my nails, and I didn’t send it to show off. I sent it to answer your question. You asked if I was doing decent. The article explains that my company was just valued at 9 figures. So, yes, I’m doing decent. There was a silence on the line. I could hear him breathing, processing the number. Nine figures. So, Frank’s tone shifted instantly. The aggression melted away, replaced by a greasy, weedling tone that was infinitely more repulsive. So, you’re rich. That’s That’s great, Faith. We always knew you were smart. That’s why we pushed you so hard. You know that tough love. It made you hungry. I laughed. It was a cold, sharp sound. Tough love. You sold my laptop 2 days before finals to buy Tyler a toy. You didn’t push me, Frank. You tried to me. Oh, stop living in the past. Frank dismissed, his voice gaining confidence. Look, if you have that kind of money, five grand is nothing to you. It’s pocket change. Your brother needs this. This girl, Jessica, her family is high society. We need to make a good impression. You owe us that much. We raised you. We put a roof over your head. You put a roof over my head until I was 18, then charged me rent to live in a closet, I said. And I don’t owe you anything. I’m not sending the money, Frank. Now, wait a minute. Frank’s voice hardened again. You can’t do that. We already told Jessica’s parents that the deposit was covered. We told them you were covering it as a wedding gift. If you don’t pay, we lose the venue. Tyler will be humiliated. That sounds like a problem for someone resourceful. I said,
“Figure it out.”
I hung up. My heart was pounding, not from fear, but from a strange vibrating anger. He had already promised my money to strangers. He was using my name, a name he hadn’t spoken with kindness in years, to buy social standing for Tyler. I buzzed Sarah again. Get me a private investigator, the best one in the city. I need a full financial workup on Frank and Susan Miller and a background check on a Tyler Miller. And find out everything you can about a Jessica he’s engaged to. If Frank was desperate enough to call me after four years of silence, it wasn’t just about a party. There was rot underneath the floorboards and I was going to find it. The investigator, a man named Mr. Vance, who smelled of peppermint and old leather, delivered the digital dossier to my secure server 48 hours later. I sat in my office with the lights dimmed, scrolling through the PDF. The blue light of the screen illuminated a disaster that was far worse than I had imagined. Frank and Susan weren’t just tight, they were drowning. They had taken out a second mortgage on the house 3 years ago, right around the time Tyler Wow. D have needed bail for a DUI that I saw listed in the public records. That money was gone. Maxed credit cards, loans from predatory payday lenders. But the real bombshell was Tyler. According to the report, Tyler hadn’t held a job in two years. However, his social media, which Vance had scraped and archived, painted a different picture. He was posing as a crypto entrepreneur and a day trader. He posted photos of the new gaming rig, the one bought with my laptop money, claiming it was his trading station. And then there was Jessica. Jessica Vance, no relation to the pie, was the daughter of a local real estate mogul. Her family was legitimately wealthy. The dossier included notes from an informant. Subject: Tyler has represented himself to the fiance as a silent partner in a Seattle-based tech firm. I stopped scrolling. My blood went cold. A Seattlebased tech firm. He wasn’t just asking me for money. He was pretending to be me. or at least pretending to be part of my success. My phone rang again. It was Susan this time. Faith, her voice was tremulous, weepy, the good cop to Frank’s bad cop. Please, honey, your father is in a state. His blood pressure is through the roof. Why are you doing this to us? Mom, I said, my voice flat. Why does Tyler’s fiance think he’s a partner in a tech firm? Susan went silent. The gasp on the other end gave her away instantly. We We didn’t say that exactly. She stammered. Tyler just He told her he helped you start up that he gave you the seed money, you know, from the laptop sale. Technically, that money did help you leave, so it’s not a lie. He just wants to look good for her. Faith, she’s his soulmate. If she finds out he’s between opportunities, she might leave. He’s unemployed. Mom, he’s in debt. You are in debt. And you’re conning this girl? It’s not a con. Susan shrieked, her mask slipping. It’s a temporary setback. Once they’re married, her father is going to give Tyler a position in the real estate firm. This marriage is his fresh start. It’s our way out. If you don’t pay for this party, the lie falls apart and we lose everything. So, you want me to fund the deception that traps this poor girl in a marriage based on lies? We want you to support your family? Susan yelled. We saw the magazine. You have millions. You selfish, ungrateful girl. You have millions and you won’t give 5,000 to save your brother’s life. I’m not saving his life, I said, watching the cursor blink on my screen. I’m prolonging his adolescence. If you don’t send the check by Friday, Susan hissed, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper I hadn’t heard since childhood. Your father is going to go to the press. He’s going to tell Tech Weekly and everyone else that the Startup of the Year CEO abandoned her sick, elderly parents and destitute brother. He’ll sue you for familial support. He’ll make you look like a monster. Threats blackmail. I looked at the dossier again. I looked at the date of the engagement party. It was in 3 days. It wasn’t just a party. It was a mixer where Tyler was supposed to be formally introduced to Jessica’s extended family and business partners.
“You want me to come to the party?” I asked softly.
“We want the check,” Susan said. “But yes, if you come and you play the part, if you back up Tyler’s story, we’ll forget about the lawsuit.”
I closed the dossier. A plan formed in my mind. It was sharp, surgical, and absolutely final.
“Okay,” I said. I’ll be there and I’ll bring the check.
