At my own graduation, my father slapped me so hard my cap hit the floor

Two days after my parents were questioned, Detective Ramirez called me with new information.

“We found something,” he said. “Your father has a second bank account that wasn’t listed in the initial documents. It was opened four years ago — right around the time your scholarship money started coming in.”

I sat up straighter.

“How much is in it?” I asked.

“Over sixty thousand dollars,” he replied. “Most of it came from transfers that match the dates your scholarship was deposited. There are also several large withdrawals over the years.”

I felt my stomach turn.

Sixty thousand dollars.

That was more than just my scholarship. They had clearly been using the account for other things too.

Detective Ramirez continued.

“We’re also looking into some suspicious payments made to your brother’s name. It seems like they were using part of the money to support him even after he dropped out of college.”

I closed my eyes.

All this time, I thought they were only hurting me. But they had also been enabling Ethan while draining my future.

“What happens now?” I asked.

“We’re going to freeze the account,” he said. “And we’ll be adding these findings to the case. Your parents are in much deeper trouble than they realize.”

After the call, I sat on the couch for a long time.

I wasn’t happy about the money. I didn’t care about getting it back as much as I cared about them finally facing consequences.

But more than anything, I felt a strange sense of validation.

I hadn’t been crazy.

I hadn’t been dramatic.