Chapter 6 - The Door Nobody Watched
I had spent three days picturing Brianna alone in my kitchen.
Now there might have been somebody outside telling her what to do.
“Are you sure about the words?” Ortiz asked Mrs. Alvarez.
“Certain about the last part,” she answered. “Before Ryan comes back. I wish I'd looked over the fence sooner.”
Ortiz told her not to blame herself.
Then she asked whether any neighborhood cameras faced the garage.
Across the street, a delivery driver had parked near the mailbox around the same time.
The detective said she would ask his company to preserve the footage.
Brianna's online story did.
By noon she had posted a second message claiming I had been jealous of the attention Ryan gave his family.
An old photograph from a Christmas party appeared beneath it.
My eyes were closed, my expression ugly, and the caption said I was "always starting fights."
I'd gone outside to cry after Brianna announced that my infertility treatments were an expensive hobby.
Nobody photographed that part.
Naomi Chen, the attorney who managed the children's trust, called after receiving a message from my hospital social worker.
She spoke plainly.
“Emma, you do not have authority to withdraw the trust principal. Neither does Ryan. I am the independent trustee.”
“I told Brianna that.”
“And she kept asking for a password?”
“Yes.”
“Then somebody gave her very bad information.”
Naomi explained that the family dashboard showed balances and approved bills, not a button that simply moved $150,000 into any account.
She would flag the account for attempted impersonation and preserve its access records.
“There's something you should know,” she added.
My hand tightened around the phone.
“Yesterday morning, before the assault, someone called my office claiming to be you. They requested an emergency distribution.”
“Who did you speak to?”
“We recorded the call.”
May you like
“And?”
“The caller used your maiden name. Then she asked us to make the check payable to Brianna.”
