If Mom cried, the argument ended.
Whoever had upset her became the problem.
This time I did not move.
She dabbed her eyes with her napkin.
“I just don’t understand how we got here.”
I looked at her.
“You told me to thank him.”
She closed her eyes.
Dad placed a hand on her shoulder, but he did not defend her.
Mike reached for his phone.
I watched him unlock it.
The bank’s message had specifically warned me not to coordinate any movement of the funds with the person involved.
“Who are you calling?” I asked.
“Nobody.”
His fingers moved rapidly.
“Mike.”
He stood.
“I need air.”
I stayed seated.
“If you’re trying to move the money again, I wouldn’t.”
He froze.
Everyone stared at me.
I nodded toward my phone.
“The latest alert says the destination accounts are being monitored.”
Mike slowly looked down at his own screen.
Whatever he saw there stopped him completely.
His thumb hovered above the glass.
Then his phone rang.
He declined the call.
It rang again almost immediately.
Jennifer whispered, “Who is it?”
Mike shoved the phone into his pocket.
“No one.”
A second later it began vibrating against the fabric of his suit.
Dad’s voice was low.
“Answer it.”
Mike glared at him.
“Stay out of this.”
Dad’s expression changed.
It was not dramatic.
He simply leaned back and looked at his son as though he were seeing him from a distance for the first time.
“I think I’ve stayed out of enough.”
Mike’s face tightened.
He pulled the phone out again.
The call had stopped.
A new message appeared.
He read it.
Then he sat down.
“What?” Jennifer asked.
“Nothing.”
“What does it say?”
He looked at me instead of answering.
“You did this.”
“No.
You did.”
His voice rose.
