« Ten twenty-two this morning, » he replied.
Ten twenty-two.
That was before my mother’s messages became gentler.
That was before she asked me, « Please answer. »
That was before she pretended to want to talk.
They had first tried the quiet route.
Take it.
And if that doesn’t work, call me.
I left the bank with a new account number, a new debit card, and my savings were transferred to a place inaccessible to my parents.
In the car, I kept my hands fixed on the steering wheel.
Zoé’s voice echoed in my head.
They need something.
They didn’t just need something.
They felt they had a right to it.
When I got back to Zoé’s house, my phone was vibrating again.
Mom.
Dad.
Jake.
I didn’t reply.
I took a screenshot of the bank alert, the withdrawal having failed.
I saved it in a folder.
Evidence.
At that time, I had no idea that this case would become my lifeline.
I knew I wouldn’t have any more surprises.
The next morning, my mother arrived.
Not at Zoé’s.
At my job.
I was halfway through making my latte when the bell above the cafe door rang and my mother walked in as if she owned the place.
Karen Whitmore, dressed in her work blazer, her hair curly, her makeup impeccable, her eyes already shining as if she were about to burst into tears on command.
For a second, my brain froze.
That was the part of my life that had never interested her.
My schedule.
My exhaustion.
My name is embroidered on my apron.
And yet, there she was, walking towards the counter with the confidence of someone who had always been the main character.
She smiled.
« Emily, » she said softly, as if we were in a movie and she was the brave mother arriving to fix everything.
My colleague, Devon, glanced at me.
« Do you know her? » he murmured.
I forced my face to remain neutral.
« Yes, » I said. « That’s my mother. »
Devon’s eyes widened. He stepped back slightly, sensing the atmosphere changing.
My manager, Ms. Alvarez, was at the till. She looked at my mother, then at me.
« Can I help you? » asked Mrs. Alvarez.
My mother’s smile remained unchanged.
« I am here to talk to my daughter, » she said.
Ms. Alvarez’s voice remained polite but firm.
« Does this have anything to do with work? » she asked.
My mother blinked.
« No, » she said. « It’s… family. »
Ms. Alvarez nodded once.
« Then you’ll have to wait outside, » she replied.
Karen’s smile tightened.
“I am his mother,” she said, as if that word were the key.
Ms. Alvarez didn’t flinch.
« And she’s on duty, » she replied. « You can wait outside, or you can leave. »
My mother’s gaze suddenly turned towards me.
She was looking for reinforcements.
For old Emily.
The one who would soften things in order to preserve peace.
Instead, I wiped my hands with a napkin, stepped out from behind the counter, and looked at her.
« What are you doing here? » I asked.
Her face tightened in feigned sadness.
« Darling, » she said, « we need to talk. »
I kept my voice calm.
« You can call me, » I said.
« I tried, » she replied quickly. « You didn’t answer. »
« I was working, » I replied.
She opened her mouth, then closed it again.
She hadn’t thought of that.
The fact that I had obligations outside of his crisis.
« I didn’t mean to set a trap for you, » she said, already presenting herself as reasonable. « But this is serious. We’re afraid. »
I stared at her.
My mother never seemed scared when Jake yelled at me.
She had never seemed frightened when my father dismissed me.
But now, with a letter from the bank on the table, she was trembling.
« What do you want? » I asked.
She glanced around, noticing the queue forming behind her, the discreet attention of customers who suddenly had something interesting to look at.
Her cheeks turned crimson.
« Not here, » she murmured.
I nodded.
« Then go, » I said.
Her eyes widened.
“Emily…”
“No,” I retorted, still calm. “You have no right to show up at my workplace and cause a scene. You told me that nobody wanted me in this house. Now you can respect the fact that I have a life outside of you.”
For a second, his face hardened.
Then she changed again.
Tears.
Instant.
« Please, » she said, her voice trembling. « We’re going to lose everything. »
I heard a faint panting sound coming from somewhere behind her.
I didn’t watch it.
I didn’t need an audience to tell me what I already knew.
My mother was prepared to humiliate me in public if it allowed her to get what she wanted.
I leaned slightly forward.
« Stop, » I said softly.
Her tears stopped abruptly, right in the middle of the brilliance.
« What? » she murmured.
« I received an account alert yesterday, » I said. « You tried to withdraw money from my savings account. »
My mother’s face froze.
I saw the lie forming behind his eyes.
Then she raised her chin.
« That was your father, » she said immediately. « He was… just checking. »
« Check what? » I asked.
She swallowed.
« We didn’t know how much you had, » she admitted.
I felt nauseous.
That’s it.
They weren’t asking for help.
They were making me undergo an audit.
« I have revoked your access, » I said.
Her eyes widened, panic overwhelming her.
« You can’t do that, » she hissed.
I gave a small smile.
« I’ve already done that, » I replied.
My mother stared at me as if she were seeing a stranger.
Then his voice became deeper, more abrupt.
« You are cruel, » she said.
I held his gaze.
« I prefer to be cautious, » I replied.
Ms. Alvarez approached, her presence firmly anchored behind me.
« Madam, » she said to my mother, « you must leave. »
Karen’s gaze flickered between us.
She wiped her cheeks as if she were putting on makeup, not as if she were crying.
« It’s not over, » she said in a low voice.
Then she turned around and went outside, her heels clicking on the floor, her shoulders stiff.
When the door closed behind her, my hands finally began to tremble.
Devon slowly approached me.
« Uh, » he said. « Are you okay? »
I’ve exhaled.
« No, » I answered honestly. « But I will be. »
That day, after my shift, I sat down at Zoe’s kitchen table and opened my laptop.
Not for my project.
For my credit.
Zoé was sitting opposite me, eating cereal as if it were dinner.
« What are you doing? » she asked.
« I’m checking something, » I said.
My heart was pounding when I looked at a free credit report.
I hadn’t thought of it before because I didn’t have a credit card.
I had no loans.
I paid for everything in cash and with my debit card.
But my parents had done it.
And if they had had access to my bank account, they could have had more.
I entered my information and clicked Submit.
The page has loaded.
Then he listed the accounts.
My eyes quickly scanned the area.
One account only.
Two.
Three.
I felt a pang of sadness.
The report mentioned credit cards.
Not mine.
A loyalty card.
A standard credit card.
A small personal loan.
All of them opened their doors within the last year.
All with sales.
My throat felt dry.
Zoé leaned forward.
« What? » she asked.
I turned the screen towards her.
She was reading.
Then his face paled.
« Oh my God, » she murmured.
My hands were cold.
« They used my name, » I said.
It wasn’t a question.
It was a fact that stared at me, black and white.
Suddenly, the notice of foreclosure lying on the table took on a new and terrifying meaning.
Jake wasn’t the only one.
It wasn’t just about my parents’ credit.
They had dragged me into it.
And I didn’t even know that.
My first instinct was to call my father.
Because it was my father who loved paperwork.
He was the one who always said, « Let’s be practical. »
He was the one who claimed to be the most stable.
I fixed his profile picture.
Then I remembered how he had looked away when my mother applauded.
The way he let Jake push me around.
Stable did not rhyme with safe.
I called anyway.
He answered on the third ring.
« Emily, » he said, as if my name were a burden.
« I checked my creditworthiness, » I said.
Silence.
Then his voice became cautious.
« Okay, » he said. « And? »
« And there are accounts in my name that I didn’t open, » I said. « Credit cards. A loan. »
Another silence.
This one is longer.
Then, finally, he breathed his last.
« We were going to tell you that, » he said.
I felt nauseous.
« You were going to tell me, » I repeated.
« Yes, » he replied quickly. « It was temporary. We needed to… we needed to reorganize things. »
« Move what? » I asked.
His voice grew louder.
« We were trying to protect the house, » he said.
My hands were trembling.
« You used my identity to protect the house, » I said.
« That’s not how it was, » he retorted sharply.
« What was it like? » I asked, my voice rising. « Tell me. »
He hesitated.
« Jake needed help, » he finally said.
And there you have it.
The same sentence, in a different light.
Jake needed help.
So you used me.
My voice has faded away.
« You incurred a debt in my name, » I said. « You didn’t ask me for anything. You didn’t tell me anything. You just did it. »
« It’s family, » he said, as if that word were supposed to heal wounds.
I felt something change.
No anger.
Not sadness.
Clarity.
« Okay, » I said softly.
He fell silent.
« What do you mean by ‘okay’? » he asked.
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