That’s when you came upstairs.”
Beatrice began crying.
Not loudly.
Grace could hear only the uneven breaths coming through the speaker.
“Caleb,” she said, “I never told you to do this.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“Yes, I did.
Because you clearly never understood what happened.”
Caleb laughed without humor.
“I understood perfectly.
Katherine reported you.
You lost your job.
Everyone at that company treated you like a criminal, and she walked away untouched.”
“Because she was telling the truth.”
No one moved.
Caleb stared at the phone.
“What?”
Beatrice’s next words came slowly.
“Katherine was telling the truth.”
Grace saw something collapse inside her son’s face.
He shook his head.
“No.
You told me she set you up.”
“I told you she reported me.”
“You said she betrayed you.”
“She did report me.
I was angry.
I was humiliated.
I wanted somebody else to blame.”
Katherine lowered the phone slightly, tears gathering in her eyes.
Grace looked at her.
“Reported you for what?”
Beatrice answered before Katherine could.
At the company where the two women had worked, Beatrice had been responsible for processing payments connected to several client accounts.
She had started moving small amounts between accounts to cover personal debts, telling herself she would replace the money before anyone noticed.
At first, she did.
Then the amounts grew.
One delayed repayment became another.
Records stopped matching.
A manager asked questions.
Katherine noticed the discrepancies while helping reconcile a project account.
She went to Beatrice privately before going to anyone else.
“She gave me a chance,” Beatrice said.
“That’s the part I didn’t tell you, Caleb.”
Caleb’s eyes shifted toward Katherine.
Katherine said nothing.
Beatrice continued.
Katherine had asked her to return what was missing and speak to their supervisor before an audit turned the situation into something worse.
Beatrice promised she would.
Instead, frightened and ashamed, she changed several records and told herself she could repair everything before the next review.
The audit came first.
Katherine was questioned because she had accessed some of the same files.
She could either reveal what she knew or allow suspicion to fall on herself and other employees.
She told the truth.
Beatrice was dismissed.
The company chose to handle part of the matter internally after most of the money was returned, but the termination alone had devastated Beatrice.
