Chapter 7
I took Daphne to the nearest community hospital.
We checked in, waited for our turn, got her temperature taken, and had some blood tests done.
Her temperature was 101.7°F.
The doctor said it was an upper respiratory infection, gave us some medicine, and told us to go home, keep Daphne hydrated, and let her rest up.
By the time we left the hospital, it was already three in the afternoon.
I sat on a bench outside the hospital with Daphne in my arms when I saw a message from Rachel pop up on my phone.
Rachel: [The Registry of Deeds closes at 4:30 PM. Can you make it in time?]
I looked down at Daphne, who was looking drowsy in my arms.
There was no way I'd make it.
I texted back. [Can't make it today. Daphne's running a fever. I'll head over first thing in the morning.]
Rachel: [Alright, then do this instead today. Go to the bank and check all the transaction records of the authorized bank card.
[You can do it through mobile banking, but it's best to get a hard copy at the bank with the bank's stamp on it. The court will accept that.]
Rebecca [Okay, I'll give it a shot.]
When we got home, I gave Daphne her medicine and gently coaxed her to sleep.
Once she was asleep, I sat by her bed, watching her little face.
She really took after me.
Her face was round, her lashes curled up, and when she slept, her mouth would hang open a bit, sometimes smacking softly like she was munching on something in her dreams.
I reached out and touched her forehead. It still felt a bit hot.
"Daphne, I won't let anyone take you away from me." My voice was so soft that only I could hear it, but I was serious, more than anything I'd ever said in my life.
While Daphne was asleep, I pulled out my phone and logged into the bank app.
The authorized card was tied to David's main account, so I could only see limited info, but at least the transaction details for the authorized card were visible.
I scrolled back through the transactions, one by one.
In the last three months, there were a few big transfers that really stood out.
Three months ago: [6,700 dollars sent. Note: Transfer. Recipient: Olivia Brooks.]
Two and a half months ago: [5,000 dollars sent. Recipient: Olivia Brooks.]
Two months ago: [9,300 dollars sent. Recipient: Olivia Brooks.]
A month and a half ago: [6,000 dollars sent. Recipient: Olivia Brooks.]
A month ago: [4,000 dollars sent. Recipient: Olivia Brooks.]
Three days ago: [26,000 dollars sent. Recipient: Olivia Brooks.]
I totaled it up. 57,000 dollars.
In three months, he'd sent Olivia 57,000 dollars from this card alone.
And this was only the one card I could actually access.
Did he have other cards or other accounts? Was there more money out there that I didn't know existed?
I didn't want to imagine it.
I took screenshots of every single transaction, saved them to my phone's gallery, and backed them up to the cloud.
Rachel had warned me to make multiple backups of any digital evidence, in case something got deleted or my phone went missing.
After I finished all that, I remembered something else: David's old phone.
Last night, I'd only checked the WhatsApp chat logs, but there might be other things on that phone I missed.
I quietly walked into the study and opened the drawer.
The phone was still there.
I picked it up and powered it on.
This time, I didn't check WhatsApp. I started scrolling through the photo gallery instead.
Most of the images were work screenshots and document photos, but as I got to the last few pages, a set of pictures caught my eye. They were photos of David and a woman at a restaurant.
She looked young, with long hair, carefully done makeup, and was in a floral dress. She was smiling sweetly.
She rested her head on David's shoulder, and he had his arm around her waist.
They seemed so intimate and genuinely happy, like a real couple.