He Accused Me Of Stealing But I Heard The Truth Chapter 07
Rachel didn’t stop.
Two days later, the director of the children and family aid center asked to see me. He said a donor had filed a complaint, accusing me of bringing my child into the back kitchen and stealing guests’ leftovers.
“I know you didn’t steal,” he said quietly. “But Weston Group just promised to fund next year’s operations. The board doesn’t want to cross them.”
I had spent three years in the center’s work-housing program. The job and the transitional housing were tied together. Because Maisie got sick so often, the social workers had already helped us apply for two extensions.
When the heat broke in the winter, the head cook, Maria, gave me the space heater from her own apartment. When Maisie had a fever, the overnight social worker bought her medicine.
Now one phone call could take all of it away.
I packed my clothes from the locker into a duffel bag. A nurse called me on the ward’s tablet, and Maisie’s face appeared on the screen.
“Mommy, can’t we live there anymore?”
“We’ll find a motel for now. Mommy will find us a new place.”
She looked at me through the screen.
“Was it that woman in the pretty dress?”
“Don’t worry about her. She just has a lot of power at a big company.”
“That doesn’t mean she’s nice.”