“Just open the app and look at the joint account balance immediately,” Paige insisted.
I opened the joint savings account where Dustin and I had deposited money for years for what we always called our shared future.
I refreshed the screen three times, making sure it was not some kind of system error.
The displayed balance was just over one thousand three hundred dollars.
We were supposed to have nearly one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars in that account.
“Paige… almost all of our money is completely missing,” I stammered, my voice shaking with disbelief.
Silence filled the phone for several seconds.
“How much money is left in there, Audrey?” Paige asked quietly.
“Almost one hundred seventy thousand dollars has just vanished,” I gasped, clutching my chest.
My mother looked up from the bed, her eyes widening with concern.
Paige spoke slowly through the speakerphone.
“Do not attempt to call Dustin under any circumstances right now, just take clear screenshots and download every single transaction receipt immediately,” Paige advised.
A terrifying realization suddenly swept over me, sending a cold chill through my entire body.
Maybe the ten thousand five hundred dollars Dustin had accused my mother of stealing was only the beginning.
I had no idea that his accusation against my mother had been planned long before we walked through that apartment door that night.
