Chapter 7: The Secret Behind the Favoritism
By Monday morning, Denise had convinced herself that the worst of the situation was over.
She had apologized to Nia. She had admitted that taking the headphones was wrong. She had even spent Sunday afternoon preparing Nia's favorite meal, baked chicken with macaroni and cheese, hoping the familiar smell would soften the tension that had settled over the house.
Nia had thanked her for dinner.
Nothing more.
The girl no longer argued when Denise spoke sharply. She no longer asked for permission to invite friends over. She no longer lingered in the kitchen hoping to be included in conversations between Denise and Marcus.
Instead, she moved through the house quietly, completing her homework, washing her dishes, and retreating to her bedroom.
Denise had wanted Nia to stop challenging her authority.
Now that the girl had stopped challenging her at all, the silence felt worse than the arguments.
On Monday afternoon, Denise stood at the kitchen counter sorting through a stack of mail when Marcus came home from school.
He dropped his backpack near the door and headed for the refrigerator.
“Mom, did you sign the permission slip for the basketball tournament?””
“It's on the counter.””
He picked it up.
“Thanks.””
Denise watched him read it.
“Marcus, I need to ask you something.””
He looked up.
“What?””
“Why did you take Nia's side at the store?””
His expression changed immediately.
“Because she was right.””
Denise placed the mail down.
“I know what you think happened. I'm asking why you felt the need to embarrass me in front of your stepfather and a whole store full of strangers.””
Marcus shut the refrigerator.
“You embarrassed yourself when you took her headphones.””
“That's not what I'm asking.””
He sighed.
“Then what do you want me to say?””
“I want to understand why you suddenly seem determined to make me the bad person in this family.””
Marcus stared at her.
“Mom, I didn't suddenly decide anything. I just stopped pretending I didn't notice.””
The words landed harder than Denise expected.
She pulled out a chair.
“Sit down.””
He hesitated before sitting opposite her.
Denise folded her hands on the table.
“You know everything I've done for you.””
“Yeah.””
“I worked two jobs when you were little. I made sure you had clothes, food, school supplies. When other people let you down, I was there.””
“I know, Mom.””
“Then why would you stand in front of strangers and tell them I was wrong?””
Marcus looked at her for a long moment.
“Because you taught me that being loved doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want.””
Denise's lips parted.
He continued before he lost his nerve.
“You always told me to stand up for myself. You told me not to let anybody take advantage of me. But when Nia stood up for herself, you acted like she was doing something terrible.””
“That's different.””
“How?””
“Because she's not my child.””
Marcus's expression hardened.
“She's Dad's child. And she lives here.””
Denise looked away.
“I never said she couldn't live here.””
“You didn't have to. You made her feel like she was borrowing space.””
The kitchen fell silent.
Marcus rubbed his hands against his jeans.
“Do you remember when she got that award at school last year?””
Denise frowned.
“What award?””
“The reading award. Dad took her out for ice cream. You said he was making too much of it because she was only doing what she was supposed to do.””
Denise stared at him.
“And then, when I got a certificate for basketball, you took pictures and called Grandma,” Marcus continued.
“I remember because Nia asked me if she could take a picture with us, and you said we needed a picture of just our family.””
Denise's face drained of color.
She remembered the photograph.
She had posted it online with a caption about being proud of her boy. Nia had been standing nearby, holding her reading certificate against her chest.
Denise had told herself that the photograph was simply a mother celebrating her son.
She had not thought about the message it sent to the girl standing outside the frame.
“I didn't mean it that way,” she whispered.
Marcus looked down.
“Maybe not. But she understood it that way.””
He rose from his chair.
“I'm not trying to hurt you, Mom. I love you. But I can't keep acting like everything is fine when it isn't.””
Denise watched him leave the kitchen.
For several minutes, she sat motionless.
Then she heard David's car pull into the driveway.
He entered carrying his briefcase and found Denise staring at the family photographs on the wall.
“What's wrong?””
She looked at him.
“Marcus says I made Nia feel like she wasn't part of the family.””
David set down his briefcase.
“He told you that?””
“Yes.””
“Do you think he's wrong?””
Denise opened her mouth, then closed it.
David pulled out a chair.
“Denise, I need to tell you something. I've been thinking about the last three years, and there are things I should have questioned long ago.””
She looked wary.
“What things?””
“Money. Gifts. The way decisions were made in this house.””
“What about them?””
David sat down.
“When we married, we agreed that Nia's savings would remain hers. I remember that conversation clearly. She had already started putting money aside for things she wanted, and I promised her she could keep it in a separate account when she was old enough.””
Denise's eyes flickered.
“What does that have to do with anything?””
“I'm asking because I noticed something yesterday when I was looking through our household budget.””
He opened his briefcase and removed a folder.
“I found several withdrawals from the account we set aside for the children's expenses. The amounts weren't enormous individually, but they added up.””
Denise stiffened.
“What withdrawals?””
“Payments for Marcus's gaming equipment, sports gear, and other purchases. Some were legitimate household expenses. Others were things we had agreed to discuss before buying.””
“He needed those things.””
“Some of them, yes. But we agreed that larger purchases would be discussed together.””
“I was going to tell you.””
“When?””
She looked away.
David opened the folder.
“I also found a transfer from Nia's savings account into the household account last spring.””
Denise went completely still.
“That was a mistake.””
David stared at her.
“What?””
“I was trying to move money around. I intended to put it back.””
“Did you?””
She said nothing.
David's face tightened.
“How much?””
Denise whispered the amount.
It was not enough to threaten the family's financial security, but it was enough to matter to a thirteen-year-old who had spent months saving small amounts of money.
David closed the folder.
“You used Nia's savings?””
“I was going to replace it!””
“When?””
“I don't know!””
His voice rose.
“You keep saying you were going to do things. You were going to treat her fairly. You were going to apologize.
You were going to tell me about the money. At what point does something actually happen?””
Denise stood abruptly.
“I did not steal from her!””
“Then explain what happened.””
She pressed her palms against the table.
“Marcus wanted a new laptop for school. The old one was slow, and he needed it for his assignments. I was short on money that month, and I knew Nia had savings sitting in her account.””
“Her savings were not yours to use.””
“I was going to replace every dollar!””
“But you didn't.””
Denise began crying.
“I thought I could put it back before anybody noticed.””
David looked at her with an expression she could not read.
“You didn't think about Nia noticing?””
“I didn't think she would check!””
The admission escaped before Denise could stop it.
David slowly leaned back.
There it was again. Not concern that Nia had lost money she had earned, but surprise that the action had been discovered.
He stood and walked toward the window.
“When did you do this?””
“Last spring.””
“And you never told me.””
“I knew you would get upset.””
He turned.
“So you decided that hiding it was better than being honest?””
Denise wiped her cheeks.
“I made a bad decision.””
“You made a decision about another person's money without permission. That's more than a bad decision.””
She sank into her chair.
“I was trying to take care of my son.””
David's voice became quiet.
“And you were willing to take something from my daughter to do it.””
Neither spoke.
Upstairs, a door opened.
Nia appeared at the top of the staircase, carrying a basket of clean laundry. She had heard the raised voices and was trying to determine whether she should wait before coming down.
David noticed her.
“Baby, can you come here for a moment?””
Nia descended slowly.
“What happened?””
David looked at Denise before answering.
“I found out that some money was transferred out of your savings account last spring.””
Nia's face changed.
“What money?””
“Some of the money you had saved.””
She stared at him.
“How much?””
David told her.
The laundry basket slipped slightly in her hands.
“That was my money for summer camp.””
Denise looked up.
“Nia, I was going to replace it.””
Nia did not move.
“You took my money?””
“I borrowed it.””
“Did you ask me?””
Denise's mouth tightened.
“No.””
“Did you tell Dad?””
“No.””
Nia stared at her stepmother as if she were seeing her for the first time.
The headphones had hurt because Denise had taken something Nia wanted.
This was different.
That money represented every babysitting job, every Saturday spent helping neighbors, every time she had said no to a movie or a new shirt because she was saving for something that mattered.
It represented the belief that, even if Denise treated her unfairly, at least she could work toward something of her own.
Now she learned that even her savings had not been safe.
“Did you use it to buy Marcus things?””
Denise began to cry harder.
“I was trying to help him.””
Nia's voice dropped.
“Why didn't you just ask Dad?””
Denise had no answer.
Nia turned to David.
“Can I have the money back?””
“Yes,” he said immediately.
“Every dollar. I will make sure it's returned.””
She nodded, but the expression on her face did not change.
Then she looked at Denise.
“You didn't just take my headphones.””
Denise shook her head helplessly.
“Nia—”
“You took my money when you thought I wouldn't notice.””
Nia's eyes filled with tears.
“And then you told me I should be grateful you let me live here.””
She set the laundry basket on the floor.
“I don't know what you want me to believe anymore.””
Then she turned and went back upstairs.
David watched her disappear.
When he faced Denise again, his expression was colder than before.
“The ultimatum I gave you at the store was about how you treat my daughter. This is something else.””
Denise stood, trembling.
“David, please.””
“You used money that belonged to a child without asking her. You concealed it from me. And when I questioned your behavior, you kept insisting the problem was Nia's attitude.””
“I was going to fix it!””
“You have one chance to tell me everything else I need to know. Every transfer, every purchase, every time you used something that belonged to Nia without permission.””
Denise stared at him.
David picked up the folder.
“If I discover another secret after today, I will not believe another promise you make.””
He headed toward the staircase.
Behind him, Denise remained alone in the kitchen.
For the first time, the problem was no longer limited to a cruel sentence in an electronics store.
It was a question of trust, money, and what Denise had been willing to take from a child who had trusted her to protect the home they shared.
May you like
And there was still one thing David had not asked.
Whether the money he had found was the only thing Denise had taken.
