Chapter 10 - The AccountLena found the money before she found the motive.
I was still in the hospital when she came in carrying a stack of papers and the expression of someone about to ruin several lives.
“Mara,” she said, “did you authorize a transfer of forty-eight thousand dollars from your joint savings account?”
I blinked.
“What?”
“Three transfers were made yesterday morning. Total forty-eight thousand. Destination account belongs to Deborah Whitmore.”
The room went silent.
Nora, sitting by the window, slowly lowered her coffee.
“No,” I said. “That was our emergency fund.”
“For the babies?”
“For hospital bills. Maternity leave. The nursery. Everything.”
Lena’s mouth tightened.
“Travis initiated the transfers at 9:12 a.m., 9:15 a.m., and 9:19 a.m.”
Hours before I went into labor.
Hours before Deborah demanded the mall.
The betrayal unfolded in my mind with sickening clarity.
Travis had emptied the account before abandoning me.
Not after.
Before.
“Why?” I whispered.
Lena sat down.
“There may be more. Did you know your house is not titled jointly?”
“Yes. Travis bought it before we married.”
“Did you know he refinanced it six weeks ago?”
I shook my head.
“He what?”
“He refinanced and took cash out. Significant cash. Some of it appears to have gone to his father’s business.”
Gordon.
Of course.
Gordon had always called himself an entrepreneur. In reality, he collected failed ventures the way Deborah collected handbags. Restaurants. Car washes. A vitamin company that lasted three months. Travis had been feeding money into Gordon’s pride for years.
“But why hide it from me?”
Lena looked at me gently.
“Because you were about to have children. Children change leverage.”
The word made my skin crawl.
Leverage.
Not family.
Not love.
Leverage.
Lena continued.
“If you were recovering from birth, financially dependent, isolated, and exhausted, they may have expected you to comply with whatever arrangement they wanted.”
“What arrangement?”
“We’re still looking.”
Nora stood.
“I know that look, Lena. Say what you suspect.”
Lena hesitated.
Then she said, “Deborah may have intended to move into the house ‘temporarily’ after the babies arrived.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“She already had a nursery picked out in her favorite room.”
“Yes,” Lena said. “And according to texts Elise gave Detective Alvarez, Deborah referred to the twins as ‘our second chance.’”
I felt cold from the inside out.
Our second chance.
Not my babies.
Hers.
Lena placed copies of texts on the bed.
Deborah to Travis: Once the babies are here, Mara will be too tired to argue.
Deborah to Travis: She has no idea how much she needs us.
Deborah to Travis: If she starts acting like she owns those children, remind her who pays for that roof.
My hands shook.
I had married a man.
But somehow, I had been living inside his mother’s plan.
That afternoon, I asked the nurse to wheel me back to the NICU.
Grace was sleeping with her tiny mouth open.
Leo’s breathing had improved.
I placed one hand near each incubator.
“They tried to make me weak,” I whispered. “So I need you both to know something.”
May you like
Nora stood quietly behind me.
“I am done being afraid.”
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