“What kind of trouble?” Marcus asked.
“He owed money.”
“To who?”
Amber shook her head.
“I don’t know all of it.”
Ruth’s voice sharpened.
“Then do not invent what you do not know.”
Amber stared.
Ruth continued.
“What exactly did Loretta tell you?”
Amber exhaled.
“She said Anthony had gotten involved with people who were threatening him over money. She panicked. He told her he needed six thousand immediately.”
“And she gave him your college money.”
“Yes.”
Marcus rubbed his face.
“Why didn’t she tell you then?”
“She thought I’d hate Anthony.”
“You hated her instead.”
Amber laughed bitterly.
“Yes.”
Ruth looked toward Loretta’s photograph.
“That sounds like her.”
Amber’s eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
“She protected the person causing the problem and let the reliable child absorb the damage.”
Amber stared at her.
Ruth had seen the pattern dozens of times.
Families often called it keeping the peace.
Usually it meant asking the person least likely to explode to carry the most weight.
Amber’s shoulders sank.
“She apologized.”
“When?”
“In August.”
“After asking for money?”
Amber looked ashamed.
“Yes.”
Marcus stood still.
“So she told you she stole your money for Anthony, apologized, then asked you for thirty-eight thousand dollars.”
“It wasn’t in one conversation.”
“That does not improve it.”
