Chapter 4 - The Tuition Message
I tapped out a quick message to Michael from the back of the cab: Tony’s $15,000 tuition payment is due Friday.
His answer came almost immediately: Why are you telling me?
I typed back: Because I’ve been paying it for three years.
The typing indicator on the screen appeared, vanished, and returned several times. Then came his reply: What do you mean YOU’ve been paying it?
I stared at the screen in the dim light of the cab. That response genuinely surprised me. Michael didn’t know. For years, I had assumed he and his family were a unified front of deceit, but looking at his text, I realized he had been completely oblivious to the financial plumbing of our extended family.
I sent one final message before turning off my notifications: Since your family believes I live off you, I think it’s time everyone becomes responsible for their own expenses.
His reply buzzed through two minutes later: Allison, what else have you been paying for?
May you like
I looked down at the manila folder resting on my lap. For the first time all evening, a lingering doubt crept into my mind. Had Michael been just as manipulated by his mother and sister as I had? Or was this just another layer of plausible deniability?
Either way, the truth was about to come out.
