He said, and I quote, “Josh needs to learn how to build. Marcus already does,” but after your mom intervened, they amended it to an even split.
That didn’t surprise me. Mom always coddled Josh, but I still didn’t understand the point of this conversation.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “But we did split it evenly. I used mine to start my business. Josh blew his app idea and that ridiculous motorcycle. End of story.”
Ray chuckled grimly.
“Not quite. Two months after your dad’s funeral, Josh came to me. Said he needed help moving some money around. He claimed you’d already taken your half and he just wanted to pull his out quietly without lawyers being nosy. I didn’t touch it, but I did tell him something.”
“What?” I asked.
“I told him there was a third account.”
I froze.
“What?”
Ray’s voice was calm.
“Your dad was a cautious man. He didn’t trust Josh’s judgment even with the split. So, he set aside a separate investment account, stocks, bonds, a few long-term holdings. He called it Marcus’s anchor. Said you were the kind of man who’d never ask for help, so he’d leave help where you wouldn’t think to look. Told me about it over drinks one night. Said not even your mom knew.”
I stood up slowly from my desk, heart pounding.
“So, what are you saying? There’s money in my name that I don’t even know about.”
Ray hesitated.
“I’m saying Josh found it.”
My blood ran cold.
“He drained it, didn’t he?” I whispered.
Ry didn’t answer at first.
Then he said, “I don’t have hard proof, but I know he started driving a new car not long after. Got real quiet when I asked about his finances. Your dad’s old broker retired, but I can put you in touch with the firm that absorbed his files.”
“They’ll know.”
I leaned on the desk, breath shallow.
“And you didn’t say anything before now?”
“I thought it was family business,” he said. “I told myself it wasn’t my place. But hearing about what he said to you at that dinner, I realized I’ve been protecting someone who stopped deserving it a long time ago.”
I didn’t even thank him.
I just said, “Send me the contact.”
I barely slept that night.
The next morning, I was on the phone with the financial firm Ray mentioned.
After a few rounds of security checks, I finally got a woman named Barbara on the line. Mid-50s, polite, careful.