Chapter 5
I checked the account number and submitted the payment again.
The same message appeared.
The account should have held more than seventy thousand dollars, built from my paychecks and Mark’s company distributions.
Now the balance was $6,412.
Mark came out of the guest room wearing a dress shirt, fastening one cuff.
“Why are you still awake?”
I turned the laptop toward him. “Where is Sophie’s college money?”
His hands stopped for half a second. Then he finished with the cuff.
“It’s late. We’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
“There’s barely six thousand dollars left.”
“She hasn’t started college yet.”
“Her enrollment and housing deposits are due Monday.”
“Pay them from another account.”
“Why should we need another account?”
Mark picked up his jacket. “I said we’ll handle it tomorrow.”
“Nine o’clock. At the bank.”
He looked at me. “Claire, stop turning everything into an interrogation.”
“Seventy thousand dollars is missing. Nine o’clock.”
I closed the laptop.
Sophie and I reached the bank before Mark the next morning. She sat beside me in a small glass-walled office, clutching a folder containing her acceptance letter and housing forms.
The account manager studied the transaction history, then turned her screen toward me.
“This wasn’t fraud,” she said. “One of the joint account holders authorized the transfer six weeks ago.”
A single withdrawal filled the screen.
Sixty-five thousand dollars.
The recipient was Rachel Dawson.
Sophie’s fingers tightened around the edge of her folder.
“Which account holder approved it?” she asked.
The manager glanced at me. “Mark Bennett.”
The door opened behind us.
Mark walked in, his face tight. He addressed the manager before he looked at Sophie.
“This is a private family matter. We need the room.”
“She stays,” I said.
“Claire.”
“The money was meant for her.”
Mark pulled out a chair but remained standing. “Legally, it’s our joint account.”
The manager excused herself and closed the door.
I turned the screen toward him. “Why did you send Rachel sixty-five thousand dollars?”
“I didn’t give it to her. It was a short-term loan.”
“What did she need it for?”
“Ethan’s training program.”
“What kind of training costs sixty-five thousand dollars?”
“He was accepted into an elite baseball academy. Tuition, housing, private coaching, and treatment for his shoulder. Rachel couldn’t pay everything up front.”
“So you used Sophie’s college savings.”
“I’m replacing it. The company has a major payment coming next month.”
“When were you planning to tell me?”
“After I put the money back.”
“You weren’t planning to tell me at all.”
Mark rubbed a hand over his face. “I knew you would react like this. It was supposed to be temporary.”
Sophie finally spoke.
“Did you help with Ethan’s application?”
Mark admitted that he had reviewed the forms, met the coaches, and known when Ethan’s payment was due. When Sophie asked about her deadline, he had no answer.
“Monday,” she said. “The papers have been on our kitchen counter for three weeks.”
Mark leaned toward her. “You have a strong portfolio. Apply for scholarships or arrange a payment plan.”
“Can’t Ethan do that?”
“It’s different with athletics.” His patience disappeared. “Ethan has one chance, Claire. Sophie is a good student. She has other options.”
I asked Sophie to open the college portal. I transferred money from my personal savings and handed her my debit card. She paid both deposits. Two receipts appeared.
“That was your emergency money,” she said.
“Now Monday can’t take your place away.”
Mark pushed back his chair. “I told you I’d handle it.”
“The deadline is handled. The sixty-five thousand dollars isn’t.”
“We’re not finished. Rachel and Ethan are waiting at the house.”
“I told you not to bring them there.”
Twenty minutes later, I turned into our street. Rachel’s SUV was in our driveway.
Sophie stared at the two figures on our porch.
“He brought them into our house anyway.”