Chapter 6 - The Secret Bank Accounts
Preparing for trial required me to sit down with a forensic accountant, an older gentleman named Arthur who treated me with more fatherly kindness in two days than my actual father had in my entire life.
We spent hours combing through the financial wreckage my parents had left in my name. But as Arthur dug deeper into the metadata of the loan applications, he found something that even I hadn't seen.
“Lila,” Arthur said one afternoon, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Look at this routing number. The federal loans were deposited here, but this isn't your parents' primary joint account.”
I frowned, leaning over the screen. “I don't recognize that bank.”
“I ran a trace on it,” Arthur explained, his expression grim. “It’s an offshore account in the Caymans. Your parents weren't just paying for Lucas’s cars and gambling debts. They were hiding money. They have over two hundred thousand dollars stashed away, untouched.”
The breath left my lungs. “Where did that money come from?”
“They’ve been running this scam for years, Lila. Not just on you. I pulled the property records. They took out second and third mortgages on your aunt’s summer home by forging her signature on a power of attorney five years ago. Your parents aren't just bad parents. They are career con artists.”
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The realization was a punch to the gut, followed immediately by a fierce wave of vindication. I wasn't crazy. I wasn't a bad daughter. I was simply the most convenient mark for two sociopaths who happened to share my DNA.
I immediately called Ms. Sterling. When the FBI raided the offshore accounts and contacted my Aunt Susan, the final nail in my parents' coffin was firmly struck. There would be no sympathy from a jury now.
