Chapter 5: Michael’s Gift
“Don’t ever speak to my mother like that.””
Emily stepped between them.
Michael immediately changed his expression.
“Emily, I’m sorry.””
“No. What gift?””
Sarah wiped her cheeks.
Michael glared at her.
“Sarah, don’t.””
I moved beside Emily.
“Tell her.””
Sarah looked at me.
Then at her daughter.
“The house.””
Emily blinked.
“What house?””
Michael closed his eyes.
Sarah continued.
“The little house in Franklin.””
Emily’s hand flew to her mouth.
“No.””
I knew exactly which house she meant.
For weeks, Emily had been telling everyone Michael had bought her and her fiancé, Noah, a starter home as a wedding gift.
She had shown Sarah pictures.
Three bedrooms.
White kitchen.
Small backyard.
Emily had cried when Michael handed her a key during the rehearsal dinner.
People applauded.
I had applauded too.
I looked at Michael.
“You bought her a house with my money?””
“It wasn’t like that.””
I laughed.
“Then make it different.””
Michael’s jaw flexed.
“The money was temporary.””
“You already used sixty thousand dollars three weeks ago.””
“Toward the down payment.””
“And today you wanted another sixty.””
“To close.””
Emily looked sick.
“You said you paid cash.””
“I said the house was taken care of.””
“You said it was yours!””
“It was going to be.””
She backed away.
“The key?””
Michael didn’t answer.
Emily’s voice rose.
“What does the key open?””
Sarah whispered, “Emily…”
“What does the key open?””
Michael finally said, “The house.””
“You own it?””
Silence.
“Do. You. Own. It?””
“No.””
Emily stared at him.
The photographer had returned again, but this time he quietly lowered his camera.
Even the coordinator looked away.
Emily pressed both palms against her temples.
“So you brought me to somebody else’s house?””
“The property was under contract.””
“Under whose name?””
Michael hesitated.
I already knew I wouldn’t like the answer.
“Mine.””
Emily’s face collapsed.
“You were going to buy my wedding gift in your name?””
“I was protecting the investment.””
“Your investment?””
She laughed through tears.
“With James’s money?””
Michael pointed at me.
“This is exactly why I didn’t want this discussed here.””
I stepped closer.
“You didn’t want it discussed anywhere.””
Sarah stood.
“James, please. I know this looks terrible.””
“It doesn’t look terrible, Sarah.””
I held up my phone.
“It is terrible.””
She lowered her voice.
“I was trying to fix something.””
“What?””
She hesitated.
Michael cut in.
“Sarah owed me.””
Everyone went quiet.
I looked at my wife.
“Owed you what?””
Sarah shook her head.
“Nothing.””
Michael gave a humorless laugh.
“Oh, now it’s nothing?””
“Michael, stop.””
“No. He wants the truth.””
He turned to me.
“Ask your wife why I disappeared.””
Emily’s expression changed.
I felt the floor shift beneath me again.
“What are you talking about?””
Michael pointed toward Sarah.
“She made sure I stayed away.””
Emily stared at her mother.
Sarah looked furious.
“That is a lie.””
“Is it?””
“Yes!””
Michael reached inside his jacket.
I instinctively moved between him and Emily.
He stopped.
Then slowly pulled out his phone.
“No drama, James. Just messages.””
He tapped the screen.
Sarah rushed toward him.
“Don’t you dare.””
Michael raised the phone out of reach.
“You wanted honesty.””
“Those messages are twenty years old!””
Emily whispered, “What messages?””
Michael looked at her.
“Your mother told me to stay away.””
Sarah shouted, “Because you were drunk half the time!””
“And because you wanted James to adopt her!””
Emily stared at me.
I stared at Sarah.
“Adopt her?””
Sarah looked trapped.
I had asked about adoption once.
Emily was nine.
Sarah told me Michael would never consent.
I never pushed because I didn’t want Emily trapped between adults.
Michael swiped through photographs.
“These are old emails.””
He showed Emily.
I couldn’t read everything from where I stood, but I saw Sarah’s name.
I saw dates.
I saw phrases.
She finally has stability.
Stop confusing her.
James is the father she needs.
Emily scrolled.
Her breathing became uneven.
Then she looked at Sarah.
“You told me he stopped calling.””
“He did!””
Michael laughed.
“After you threatened to take me to court.””
“You were behind on child support!””
“I was broke!””
“You were drinking!””
“I got sober!””
“Three years later!””
Emily shouted, “Stop!””
Everyone did.
She stood in the middle of us in her wedding dress, shaking.
For the first time, I stopped seeing a bride.
I saw the seven-year-old girl who used to sit at our kitchen table asking why her daddy didn’t call.
And I realized both her biological parents had built competing versions of her childhood.
She had lived inside the gap.
Emily looked at me.
“Did you know?””
“No.””
“You swear?””
“I swear.””
Her eyes searched mine.
Then she nodded once.
Michael noticed.
His expression darkened.
“Of course you believe him.””
Emily turned.
“He’s the only person here who hasn’t lied to me today.””
The words hit all three of us.
Sarah began crying again.
Michael’s face hardened.
“Fine. You want the truth? Ask James why he’s really refusing to pay.””
I stared at him.
“I’ve explained why.””
“No.””
Michael stepped closer.
“You’re angry because she chose me.””
“Yes.””
The blunt answer surprised him.
“I am angry. I’m hurt. But that doesn’t make the invoices imaginary.””
Emily wiped her face.
The coordinator approached carefully.
“Emily, I hate to interrupt, but Noah is asking what’s happening.””
Emily closed her eyes.
Her fiancé.
Waiting at the altar.
She took a breath.
“I need five minutes.””
“I can give you five.””
The coordinator hurried away.
Emily looked at Michael.
“Show me the purchase contract for the house.””
His eyes shifted.
“Not now.””
“Show me.””
“I don’t have it on my phone.””
“Then email it.””
“Emily.””
“Now.””
Michael stared at her.
Finally he unlocked his phone.
His thumb moved across the screen.
Then stopped.
“What?”” Emily asked.
“Nothing.””
“Send it.””
He didn’t.
I watched his face.
The same face that had turned pale when the bank mentioned the wire.
“Michael,” I said, “there is no house contract, is there?””
His eyes snapped toward mine.
Emily whispered, “Dad?””
He said nothing.
Then another voice came from behind us.
“Actually, there is.””
We all turned.
A young man in a gray suit stood at the end of the hallway.
Noah.
Emily’s fiancé.
He was holding a folder.
And he looked furious.
“I found it in Michael’s car.””
Michael’s face drained.
May you like
Noah walked toward Emily and handed her the folder.
“I think you need to see whose name is actually on that house.””
