Chapter 3 - The Missing Money
I didn’t chase Nathan.
That surprised everyone.
Especially me.
He disappeared into the snow with Rebecca shouting after him, but I stayed in the kitchen staring at Claire.
“The transfer cleared?”
Claire shook her head.
“I didn’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I swear.”
“You already lied about him being here.”
“I know.”
“You lied about when he arrived.”
“I know.”
“You forged my signature.”
Her eyes dropped.
“I know.”
“Stop saying you know.”
My voice cracked.
“You don’t know anything about what this feels like.”
A bedroom door opened upstairs.
I stopped immediately.
Eli appeared at the railing wearing dinosaur pajamas.
“Daddy?”
My anger vanished from my face as fast as I could force it away.
“Hey, buddy.”
“Why is everybody yelling?”
Claire covered her mouth.
I walked upstairs and crouched in front of him.
“Adults are having a difficult conversation.”
“Are you mad at Mommy?”
I looked toward Claire.
“Yes.”
There was no reason to lie to him.
“But none of this is because of you.”
His eyes filled with worry.
“Are you leaving?”
That question nearly broke me.
I pulled him against my chest.
“Not you.”
He held onto my neck.
“I’m not leaving you.”
Behind me, Claire began crying again.
I carried Eli back to his room.
I stayed until he fell asleep.
When I came downstairs, Rebecca was sitting at the kitchen table.
Claire stood by the window.
Nathan’s truck was gone.
“He came back for it?” I asked.
Rebecca nodded.
“He wouldn’t look at me.”
She sounded empty now.
Not angry.
Empty.
I opened my laptop.
The bank’s website loaded slowly.
My hands shook as I logged in.
Checking.
Savings.
Mortgage.
Then I saw a new account.
HOME EQUITY CREDIT LINE.
Available credit: $90,000.
Current balance: $67,500.
For several seconds, I thought I was reading it wrong.
I refreshed.
Same number.
Rebecca leaned toward the screen.
“How much?”
“Sixty-seven thousand five hundred.”
Claire spun around.
“No.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“No. Nathan said he only needed twenty-two thousand five hundred for the business deposit.”
I stared.
“You gave him twenty-two thousand dollars?”
“He said we would pay it back when—”
“When you left me?”
She stopped.
I looked at the screen again.
Three withdrawals.
$22,500.
$20,000.
$25,000.
Different accounts.
Different days.
All within forty-eight hours.
I turned the laptop toward Claire.
“You recognize any of these?”
She pointed at the first one.
“That’s Nathan’s company.”
“And the others?”
“I don’t know.”
Rebecca leaned closer.
“I do.”
She pointed at the second transfer.
“That’s an account he opened last year.”
My eyes moved to the third.
Rebecca went pale.
“And that…”
She stopped.
“What?”
“That routing number belongs to our joint savings bank.”
I looked at her.
“Yours and Nathan’s?”
She nodded.
Rebecca immediately pulled out her phone.
I watched her log in.
Then her face collapsed.
“No.”
She refreshed.
“No, no, no.”
“What happened?”
“Our savings.”
Her voice became a whisper.
“It’s gone.”
“How much?”
“Thirty-one thousand.”
Claire sat down hard.
Rebecca looked across the table.
“You helped him steal from both of us.”
“I didn’t know he touched your money.”
“You helped him forge Daniel’s name!”
“I know!”
“Then stop acting shocked that a thief stole from you too!”
Claire burst into tears.
For once, I didn’t defend her.
For eleven years, defending Claire had been automatic.
When my sister said she was selfish, I defended her.
When my father questioned our spending, I defended her.
When friends wondered why I traveled so much while Claire stayed home even after Eli started school, I defended her.
I told everyone marriage was partnership.
I had confused loyalty with blindness.
I grabbed my phone.
The bank’s fraud department answered after eleven minutes.
I put the call on speaker.
I explained the signature.
The withdrawals.
The application.
The representative froze the remaining $22,500 immediately.
She told us the transferred funds would require investigation.
Then she asked a question.
“Mr. Carter, did you personally appear before the notary listed on the application?”
“No.”
“Were you in Illinois on December seventeenth?”
“No. I was in Michigan for work.”
Keyboard tapping.
Then silence.
“Sir, I recommend filing a police report tonight.”
Claire whispered, “Daniel.”
I kept listening.
The representative continued.
“The application contains a notarized acknowledgment claiming both borrowers appeared in person.”
I looked at Claire.
“So somebody committed fraud.”
“Yes, sir.”
Claire covered her face.
Rebecca stared at the wall.
After the call, I contacted the non-emergency police line.
An officer told me to preserve every message and document.
Rebecca emailed me screenshots.
I photographed Nathan’s coat.
The wineglasses.
Even the guest bathroom where he had hidden.
Claire watched me.
“You’re documenting everything.”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to use this against me.”
I slowly turned.
“What exactly did you think would happen?”
“I’m still Eli’s mother.”
“Then start acting like it.”
She flinched.
“That’s cruel.”
“No, Claire. Cruel is planning to take a seven-year-old child away from his father while stealing money from the roof over his head.”
She started toward me.
“I never would’ve taken him.”
“You wrote that you would.”
“I was fantasizing about leaving.”
“With my money.”
She stopped.
I picked up my overnight bag.
Claire’s eyes widened.
“Where are you going?”
“Upstairs.”
“You’re not leaving?”
“Not tonight.”
Relief flashed across her face.
I hated it.
“I’m staying because roads are dangerous and my son is sleeping here.”
Her relief vanished.
“I’ll sleep in the guest room.”
“That’s where Nathan hid.”
She looked down.
I walked past her.
I slept on the floor beside Eli’s bed.
Or tried to.
At four in the morning, I heard him whisper.
“Daddy?”
“I’m here.”
His little hand reached over the edge of the mattress.
I took it.
“Are you and Mommy getting divorced?”
My throat tightened.
“I don’t know yet.”
“Will I still see you?”
“Every chance I get.”
He squeezed my fingers.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
I meant it.
At seven, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I stepped into the hallway and answered.
“Daniel Carter?”
“Yes.”
“This is Detective Melissa Grant with county financial crimes.”
I looked toward the stairs.
Claire stood at the bottom.
Listening.
Detective Grant continued.
“The bank contacted our office regarding your fraud report.”
“Okay.”
“There’s something you need to know before anyone moves or destroys anything in that house.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“We ran the notary name from your loan documents.”
I waited.
May you like
Her next words changed the entire case.
“The notary is Nathan West’s brother.”
