Chapter 8 - The Money Abigail Never Saw
The eighth audio file did not contain shouting.
It captured Evelyn and Bertha speaking in the kitchen.
Hunter was apparently nearby with the toy.
Evelyn said, “Abigail cannot find out until the account is empty.”
Bertha replied, “She never checks anything.”
Then came the sound of papers moving.
Detective Cole asked Abigail about her finances.
She explained that Evelyn helped manage a savings account created after Abigail’s husband died.
Hunter’s father, Daniel, had been killed in a construction accident when Hunter was two.
The insurance settlement was modest.
Most of it was placed into a protected account for Hunter’s education and medical needs.
Evelyn was named temporary co-manager because Abigail was grieving and overwhelmed.
“I thought her access ended years ago,” Abigail said.
It had not.
Cole contacted the bank.
Withdrawals began eighteen months earlier.
Small amounts at first.
Then larger transfers.
Money went to Bertha’s failing salon.
A new car.
Credit card payments.
Cash withdrawals.
More than ninety thousand dollars was missing.
Abigail stared at the records.
Hunter’s future had been drained while Evelyn accused Abigail of depending on her.
Cole found another pattern.
Each major withdrawal occurred within days of an injury or punishment recorded by the toy.
The reason became clear.
Hunter had seen documents.
He had asked questions.
Once, he told Evelyn he would tell his mother about the money papers.
That evening, he was locked in the shed.
The abuse was not simply cruelty.
It was intimidation.
They were teaching a six-year-old to fear speaking.
Bertha had been benefiting from the stolen money.
Evelyn had been controlling the account.
Both women had a reason to silence him.
Abigail looked through the ICU window at her son.
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He had tried to protect her while adults stole from him.
👉 Evelyn and Bertha were not punishing Hunter for misbehavior—they were frightening him because he had discovered the missing money.
