Chapter 6 - Where Did All the Cash Really Go?
Harper stood near the door, her arms crossed defensively, but the arrogance had completely vanished from her eyes. In its place was a cornered animal’s fear.
""I was going to pay it back,"" Harper muttered under her breath. ""I had a system. I was using an investment app that promised high returns. I was going to pay Dad back every single dollar before he ever found out about the loans.""
""An investment app?"" Adam laughed bitterly, throwing his hands in the air. ""Harper, you were playing high-stakes online blackjack at two in the morning while Milo was crying in his crib! I found three maxed-out credit cards hidden in your cosmetic vanity last month! Over forty-two thousand dollars in designer purses, private club dues, and boutique clothes!""
""You never paid attention to me!"" Harper screamed back, deflecting again. ""You worked sixty hours a week! Dad was the only one who ever made me feel special!""
""Shut up, Harper,"" Richard said.
The room went instantly dead silent.
It was not a loud command. It was a low, guttural growl that sounded like tearing metal. Richard had lifted his head. His eyes were bloodshot, his jaw set in a hard, rigid line. For the first time in his life, he was looking at his daughter without the rose-tinted glasses of adoration.
""Dad—"" Harper started, her voice trembling.
""I said shut up,"" Richard repeated, standing up slowly from his chair. ""For seven years, your mother and I went without vacations. We haven't been to a restaurant in three years. I bought my work boots at thrift stores. When our boiler cracked last December, I told your mother we had to wait until spring because we were short on cash—while I had just slipped eight hundred and ninety dollars into an envelope for you that very morning.""
He walked over to the desk, picked up one of the envelopes, and stared at his own handwriting.
""Your brother asked me for eight hundred dollars once to buy tools for an internship,"" Richard whispered, his voice trembling with devastating regret. ""I told him he was lazy. I told him he expected hand-outs. I made him feel worthless in his own home.""
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He turned slowly toward me, tears spilling over his weathered cheeks.
""And all along... the only one expecting hand-outs was sitting right in front of me.""
