Chapter 3 - THE WRONG RECIPIENT
Ethan came in holding a white bakery box and his phone. He stopped when he saw the dress.
“Vanessa did that?”
I nodded. His eyes went to my sister. He didn't yell. The disappointment on his face was worse.
“I told you no last night,” he said. “You said you understood.”
“I was trying to save you,” Vanessa snapped.
“From a wedding dress?”
“From her.”
He unlocked his phone. “The third message wasn't meant for me. Your sister typed my name where she meant to type your mother's.”
My mother said, too quickly, “I don't know what you're talking about.”
Ethan handed me the screen.
Make sure she cancels before Monday. If he finds the Rose account, we're both finished. I already moved the money and used her signature. Don't let her call the lawyer.
For a moment the ruined dress didn't matter.
Rose Bennett was our grandmother. She'd died four years earlier, leaving behind a house full of recipe cards, old photographs, and what Mom called a modest college fund. I had never seen a statement. Mom said the paperwork was complicated and promised to explain it when I turned thirty.
“What Rose account?” I asked.
Mom's mouth tightened. “Estate business. Not suitable for today.”
“Did you use my signature?”
Vanessa looked down.
Ethan slid a second image onto the screen. It showed the time and date of Vanessa's message, plus the frantic follow-up: Wrong person. Delete that. It's about a surprise gift.
“A surprise gift?” Rachel asked. “Is fraud your love language?”
Vanessa went red. Mom tried to take the phone. Ethan pocketed it.
“Get out,” I told them.
“Evelyn,” Mom said, “this family has protected you your entire life.”
“Then it can survive my asking one question.”
Janelle returned with a garment bag and a frightened-looking seamstress named Nora. Behind them stood a woman I hadn't seen in two years: my mother's older sister, Aunt Ruth.
May you like
Ruth looked at the dye, then at my mother.
“I warned you,” she said. “Rose kept copies.”
