Then he handed me the latest bank statement. My eyes scanned the paper. Current balance: twelve thousand and forty-one dollars.

“Where is the rest of it?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

Mr. Henderson sighed. “Your aunt has been making regular withdrawals for fourteen years. She was supposed to file reports with the court, but she stopped doing that eight years ago.”

I took the transaction history. There were dozens of massive withdrawals. Fifty thousand dollars. Eighty thousand dollars. Twenty thousand dollars.

I walked out of the office and ran all the way back to the house on Maple Street, my mind spinning.

When I confronted her in her yellow recliner, she dropped the bomb about the secret brother in Chicago. She claimed he had severe medical issues and needed the money.

For about five minutes, I actually believed her. I felt this wave of guilt. I thought, maybe my dad had a secret. Maybe another child needed it more.

But then I started thinking. Karen had never once visited Chicago. She did not even have a driver’s license. She took the municipal bus everywhere.

And why would the medical bills be paid to an LLC called KT Holdings? I had seen that name on the bank statements next to the largest wire transfers.

I decided to wait until she went to her night shift. Then, I went down to our dark, moldy basement.

In the corner, behind some dusty paint cans, was her metal filing cabinet. I used a flathead screwdriver from the kitchen drawer and popped the cheap lock in ten seconds.

I started digging through the folders. Tax documents, water bills, old receipts. Then, I found a green folder labeled KT Holdings.

I opened it, and my breath hitched. KT Holdings was not a medical facility in Chicago. It was a registered business in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The sole owner of KT Holdings was Toby Thompson. Toby was Karen’s biological son. My cousin.

He had left Decatur when I was eight years old. Karen always told me he was living upstate, working a quiet job, and that he wanted nothing to do with us.