“How long?” I finally asked.
Emily knew what I meant.
“The money problems started about ten months ago.”
That was earlier than I expected.
She told me that at first the changes were small.
A payment would disappear from our checking account.
A transfer would appear with a description she didn’t recognize.
When she called Richard, he told her I had authorized investments through the family company.
She believed him because I had trusted him.
So had she.
Then larger amounts vanished.
The savings account I had built from military pay began shrinking.
An investment account was closed.
A property-tax notice arrived with my father’s business office listed as the new mailing address.
Emily started asking questions.
That was when my parents’ behavior changed.
Rebecca began criticizing everything Emily bought, even groceries and diapers.
Richard told her she was living beyond her means.
When Emily asked to see the records proving I had authorized the transfers, he refused.
“He kept saying the documents were confidential,” she told me.
“I said nothing involving our personal money should be confidential from us.”
I squeezed her hand.
“You were right.”
She looked toward the black folder on the chair.
“Three weeks ago, I went to the company office while your father was meeting a client.
One of the side rooms was unlocked.
I found a cabinet with files under your name.”
“What was in them?”
“Transfers.
Property papers.
Copies of your military orders.
A power-of-attorney document.”
That made me sit straighter.
Before deployment, I had signed a limited power of attorney so certain bills and emergencies could be handled if communications failed.
It had specific restrictions.
“Did you see the original?”
“I saw a copy.
But Jacob…
the version in their file didn’t look limited.”
I stared at her.
“What do you mean?”
“It looked like it gave your father control over almost everything.”
The room seemed suddenly quieter.
“I never signed that.”
“I know.”
Emily told me she had photographed several pages before Richard entered the room and demanded her phone.
She refused to surrender it.
During the argument, she grabbed the black folder from the desk and left.
After that, the pressure intensified.
My parents told her she was unstable.
Rebecca accused her of trying to destroy the family business.
Richard threatened to cut off every account she used.
Then, on the night I came home, they demanded the folder.
When Emily refused to give it back, Richard told her she had no legal right to remain in the house.
Rebecca carried Sophie’s diaper bag to the porch.
Richard put the suitcases outside.
