Home Entertainment Game Technology Advertisement Part 2: For eight years, my parents made me leave the house every time my brother brought his fiance over; Mom said, “She comes from a good family, don’t embarrass us”; Dad added, “Just disappear for the weekend”; I did; then one weekend, I never came back; it took them four years to find out where I went.

But there was still one question.

"Why keep me alive in the house afterward?"

My mother was silent.

Then whispered, "Because I wouldn't let him send you away."

I stared at the phone.

"What does that mean?"

"He wanted you placed somewhere nobody could find you."

Her voice broke.

"I told him I'd expose everything."

I swallowed.

"So he let me stay."

"Yes."

My hands shook.

"But you still helped him."

A long silence followed.

Then she whispered, "I know."

***

The following morning, Nora called with news about the trust.

Grandma Ruth had indeed been connected to an inheritance established for me.

The assets had been held in a family account.

After my supposed death, funds were distributed through documents signed by my father.

The records suggested that a substantial amount had eventually passed into accounts he controlled.

Nora sounded angry.

"Stacey, your grandmother spent years trying to recover the money."