Chapter 4
Rachel spent the whole night scrolling through David's chat history.
The baby slept peacefully beside her, his breathing steady.
She kept scrolling up, one message after another.
The glow from her phone screen lit up her face.
It made her look even paler.
By three in the morning, she finally reached the messages from a month ago.
That was when she was eight months pregnant.
Emily: [David, my rent went up again this month. It's so expensive.]
David: [How much did it go up?]
Emily: [It went up by 300 dollars. Now it's 1,200 dollars.]
Emily: [Being a girl living alone is so hard.]
David: [Just stay there for now. I'll cover your rent.]
Emily: [I can't possibly let you do that...]
David: [Come on, we've known each other forever. This is nothing.]
Emily: [Thanks, David. You're so sweet.]
Emily: [You're so much better than my boyfriend.]
David: [Did you two fight again?]
Emily: [Yeah, he says I spend money like crazy and that I'm childish.]
Emily: [I was furious.]
David: [Then just break up with him. He's not good enough for you.]
Emily: [But what am I gonna do if I'm all alone?]
David: [You've still got me.]
Rachel's grip on her phone tightened as she read, her heart pounding in her chest.
She could barely breathe, her fingers clutching the phone so hard her knuckles turned white.
She kept scrolling down.
She saw the transfer records.
1,000 dollars.
2,000 dollars.
3,000 dollars.
4,000 dollars.
One transfer after another.
Each one felt like a stab straight to her heart.
She remembered those days.
Back then, she was eight months pregnant.
Her belly was so huge, even taking a few steps felt like a battle.
She wanted to buy a maternity pillow for some comfort.
It cost 100 dollars.
David told her it was way too expensive.
She craved a cake.
It was 30 dollars.
David brushed it off, saying it wasn't necessary.
But meanwhile, the money he sent Emily, added up to more than 15,000 dollars.
Rachel's tears splashed onto her phone screen.
She quickly wiped them away and kept scrolling.
She found even more messages.
Emily: [David, I saw this dress today. It was so pretty.]
David: [How much was it?]
Emily: [3,000 dollars.
[Forget it, it's way too expensive. I won't buy it.]
David: [Send me the link.]
Emily: [Really, you don't need to.]
David: [Don't be shy.]
And then, another transfer popped up.
3,000 dollars.
Rachel laid her phone aside.
She slumped against the headboard.
Closing her eyes, she tried to steady her breath.
The pajamas she was wearing—old and faded—were bought three years ago.
The cuffs were frayed, threads dangling.
She'd hung onto them, refusing to throw them out, because David always insisted, "We need to save every penny," "We've got to save up for a house."
But now.
He'd just bought Emily an 3,000-dollar dress without blinking.
Rachel laughed, bitter and broken, and before she knew it, tears were flooding down her cheeks again.
She grabbed her phone.
She started taking screenshots—every single chat message.
And every transfer record, too.
One after another, no matter how many.
She stored them all.
Then sent everything to Jessica.
By four in the morning, Jessica shot back a reply right away.
Jessica: [This is solid evidence. Keep gathering more.
[Also, check your shared assets.
[House, car, savings.
[Get everything down to the last detail.]
Rachel stared at the message.
She paused, stunned.
'That's right, I need to check the assets too,' she thought.
She and David had been married for three years.
After the wedding, they bought a house together.
It was 1,300 square feet—a decent size.
Both their names were on the deed.
They also had a car.
It was worth 70,000 dollars.
Both their names were on the title.
And then there was their savings
Rachel suddenly remembered.
She hadn't checked their savings in ages.
David handled all the family finances.
Even her salary card was in his hands.
A wave of dread washed over Rachel.
*****
The next morning, David left for work. Susan took Emily out to buy groceries.
That left Rachel and the baby alone at home.
Rachel put the baby in the bassinet.
Then she went to David's room.
She opened his laptop.
She powered it on.
It asked for a password.
Rachel tried a few.
His birthday.
Their wedding anniversary.
None of them worked.
She paused, thinking.
She tried Emily's birthday.
The laptop unlocked.
Rachel's heart sank.
Then, she opened the online banking app.
Logged in.
Checked the balance.
Clicked into the savings account.
Only 1,000 dollars.
Rachel froze in shock.
'One thousand?' she thought, barely believing her eyes.
She remembered—just six months ago, there were 100,000 dollars in that account.
Three years of savings, all gone.
That was everything she and David had put away.
'How did it drop to just three thousand?' Rachel wondered, panic rising.
She opened up the transaction history.
Scrolled through, entry after entry.
There were endless transfer records.
Recipient: Emily.
15,000 dollars.
10,000 dollars.
7,000 dollars.
3,000 dollars...
She totaled it up.
Ninety thousand dollars—gone, just like that.
Rachel sat in the chair, her whole body trembling.
She was shaking all over.
Every last cent, transferred to Emily.
She took a deep breath and took screenshots of every single transaction.
Then sent them all to Jessica.
Then she shut the laptop.
She went back to her room.
She sat down on the bed.
She stared up at the ceiling.
Her mind was completely blank.
Three years of savings.
All gone.
All of it, given away to Emily.
And her?
She couldn't even afford a 300-dollar dress for herself.
Tears rolled down Rachel's cheeks once more.
But this time, she stayed silent.
She didn't utter a sound.
She just let the tears fall quietly, sitting there in the dark.
Her phone buzzed.
A message popped up from Jessica.
Jessica: [Rachel, this is more than enough evidence.
[Your main job now is to keep your assets safe.
[The house and car are shared property—he can't touch them.
[But make sure he doesn't send any more money.
[And you need to make sure you get custody of the baby.
[When you're ready, come find me and we'll officially start the divorce process.]
Rachel stared at the message.
She gripped her phone tight.
She knew.
It was time.
She was going to get a divorce.
Not because she was angry.
Not because she was heartbroken.
But because this man simply wasn't worth another second of her life.
She got to her feet and walked over to the mirror.
Staring at her reflection, she saw a woman haggard and pale, eyes swollen and red.
She looked like a ghost of herself.
But, her gaze, in that moment, turned steely with determination.
She wasn't going to shed another tear.
She would reclaim everything that was hers.
The house.
The baby.
And her dignity.