Chapter 2: Sixty-Eight Thousand Dollars
Eleanor had a way of making silence feel like a courtroom.
She didn't shout. She didn't threaten. She simply opened the folder, removed several pages, and arranged them across the dining table with the precision of someone preparing evidence.
Daniel stared at the documents.
"Mom, what is this?""
"An accounting review.""
He gave a short, nervous laugh.
"You're bringing company paperwork into my home?""
"Our home, technically, is financed by a trust I established before you were born. But let's not get distracted by ownership.""
I had never seen my husband look so small.
Vanessa moved toward the hallway, clutching her handbag.
"I think I should leave.""
"Sit down," Eleanor said.
Vanessa froze.
"I'm sorry?""
"You heard me.""
For a moment, Vanessa appeared ready to argue. Then she glanced at Daniel, who was staring at the papers as if they might suddenly disappear.
She sat.
Eleanor pointed to the first document.
"Three months ago, our auditors flagged unusual charges on Daniel's corporate account. Several luxury hotel stays. Jewelry purchases.
Private car services. Two first-class airline tickets for destinations Daniel never visited for legitimate company business.""
Daniel pulled out a chair.
"Those were client expenses.""
"Which clients?""
He hesitated.
"Several international partners.""
"Names, Daniel.""
"I don't have them memorized.""
Eleanor slid another page toward him.
"Then perhaps you'll remember the sixty-eight thousand dollars transferred to an apartment management company in Buckhead.""
Vanessa's face changed.
I noticed it immediately.
Her fingers tightened around her handbag, and her eyes darted toward Daniel.
Eleanor noticed, too.
She turned a page.
"The apartment is leased in Vanessa Cole's name. The security deposit, furnishings, and first year's rent were paid through a subsidiary of Whitmore Holdings.""
I looked at my husband.
"You bought her an apartment?""
Daniel's voice sharpened.
"Sarah, don't make this worse.""
I almost laughed.
He had brought his mistress into our home, allowed her to slap me, and now expected me to protect his reputation.
"How exactly could I make this worse, Daniel?""
Vanessa jumped to her feet.
"You told me that money was yours!""
Daniel turned on her.
"Not now.""
"No, you said your family had approved the transfer! You said the apartment was part of your compensation package!""
Eleanor folded her hands.
"How interesting. My son appears to have told each of you a different story.""
Vanessa's cheeks flushed.
Daniel lowered his voice.
"Mom, we can discuss the accounting privately.""
"No.""
He looked stunned.
"No?""
"No, Daniel. The company's money is not your personal allowance. And your title does not give you permission to spend it on your girlfriend.""
Vanessa flinched at the word girlfriend.
I pressed a hand against my belly. My daughter shifted beneath my palm, a small, unmistakable movement.
The reminder nearly broke me.
I had spent months choosing curtains, washing tiny clothes, and imagining Daniel holding our baby for the first time. While I was planning our daughter's future, he had been furnishing another woman's apartment.
Eleanor glanced at me.
"Sarah, would you like to sit down?""
"I'm fine.""
"You're eight months pregnant and you've just been assaulted. You do not have to pretend to be fine for anyone in this room.""
Her gentleness nearly made me cry harder.
Daniel exhaled impatiently.
"Mom, enough. Vanessa and I have a relationship. It happens. People fall out of love.""
I turned toward him.
"Then why didn't you tell me?""
He stared at the floor.
"Because I knew you'd react like this.""
"Like what? Like a woman who doesn't want to find another woman sitting on her couch?""
Vanessa crossed her arms.
"Daniel told me you two were basically separated.""
"We sleep in the same bed," I said.
"Not every night," Daniel muttered.
The words landed like a slap of their own.
I remembered the evenings he had claimed to be working late. The nights I had fallen asleep waiting for him to come home. The mornings when he kissed my forehead and told me he was exhausted.
I had blamed his job.
I had blamed pregnancy hormones.
I had even blamed myself.
Eleanor pushed another document across the table.
"There is one more matter.""
Daniel stared at it.
"Mom, don't.""
Those two words changed the atmosphere.
Until then, he had acted irritated, embarrassed, and defensive. Now genuine fear flashed across his face.
Eleanor raised an eyebrow.
"Why not?""
"Because it has nothing to do with Sarah.""
"Then you should have no trouble explaining it.""
She removed a photograph from the folder.
It showed Daniel and Vanessa walking into a private medical clinic. Daniel wore a baseball cap pulled low over his forehead. Vanessa held his hand.
The date printed on the photograph was six weeks earlier.
I stared at it.
"What clinic is that?""
Neither of them answered.
Eleanor did.
"A fertility clinic.""
The room seemed to tilt.
I looked at Vanessa, then at Daniel.
"Why were you going to a fertility clinic together?""
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
Daniel reached for the photograph.
"Give me that.""
Eleanor moved it out of reach.
"Sit down.""
"Mom—"
"Sit. Down.""
He obeyed.
I could hear my own heartbeat.
Vanessa wiped her cheeks with the heel of her hand.
"Daniel told me he wanted a child with me.""
The words came out in a rush, as if she had been holding them inside for months.
"He said he couldn't leave you while you were pregnant because it would make him look terrible. He said he was waiting until the baby was born.""
I looked at Daniel.
"You planned to have a child with her while I was carrying yours?""
He closed his eyes.
"It wasn't like that.""
"Then tell me what it was like!""
He said nothing.
Vanessa laughed bitterly through her tears.
"You told me you were going to marry me. You told me your mother would eventually accept me. You said you were going to give me a family of my own.""
Eleanor's expression hardened.
"And how did you intend to pay for this family?""
Vanessa turned toward her.
"I thought Daniel had money.""
"He does have money," Eleanor said.
"But apparently he also has a remarkable talent for spending money that doesn't belong to him.""
Daniel stood abruptly.
"That's enough! You're humiliating me in front of my wife.""
I rose too quickly, and a wave of dizziness forced me to grip the table.
Eleanor was beside me immediately.
"Sarah?""
"I'm okay," I whispered.
She called for her driver to bring my hospital bag from the car. He had apparently anticipated that the afternoon might become difficult.
That small act of preparation unsettled me.
Eleanor hadn't arrived by accident.
She had come prepared.
While I steadied myself, Daniel leaned toward his mother.
"If you suspend me over this, the board will question your judgment, too.""
Eleanor looked directly into his eyes.
"The board already knows there's an investigation.""
His mouth opened.
She continued.
"And if you think the money is the worst thing I've found, you haven't been paying attention.""
Then she took out a final document.
It was a life insurance policy.
My full name appeared at the top.
The coverage amount was $2.5 million.
I stared at the page, unable to understand why my mother-in-law was handing me an insurance document in the middle of an argument about an affair.
Then I reached the beneficiary section.
Daniel's name had been crossed out.
In its place was Vanessa Cole.
My fingers went numb.
"Daniel," I whispered.
"Why is there a life insurance policy on me?""
He didn't answer.
May you like
Eleanor's voice dropped to a dangerous calm.
"That's precisely what we're going to find out.""
