Chapter 2

I carried the box upstairs and locked myself in the guest room.

Leaving without a place to sleep would only prove Blaine right. I opened my laptop, found a nearby hotel, and entered the card linked to our joint account.

The payment was declined.

I tried the banking app. The money from my cottage had arrived the previous afternoon, then disappeared in a single transfer to an account bearing only Blaine's name.

I took screenshots and sent them to an email address he didn't know about.

Then I went downstairs.

Blaine was waiting in the living room. His mother sat beside him, still wearing the pearls she chose whenever she planned to be cruel politely. Nadine stood near the fireplace.

They had arranged themselves like a family meeting. I was the problem they had gathered to solve.

"Where is my money?" I asked.

Pamela's eyebrows rose. "Good morning to you too."

"Blaine emptied our joint account. I want the money from my house returned."

"I moved it somewhere safer," Blaine said. "You weren't in a state to make financial decisions last night."

"You made the transfer before I came home."

He didn't answer.

Pamela folded her hands. "Blaine called me because you're threatening to abandon your marriage over one uncomfortable arrangement."

"An affair isn't an arrangement."

"A woman your age should know marriage becomes complicated. Sensible women don't destroy a secure life because their husbands disappoint them."

Nadine watched me over the rim of her coffee cup. She was using the mug Blaine had bought me after our wedding.

"Did he call you too?" I asked her. "Or did you let yourself in?"

"Blaine thought we should clear the air."

I almost laughed. "My husband gave you a key, stole the proceeds from my home, and invited you to discuss my boundaries?"

"Nothing was stolen," Blaine said. "We're married."

"Then transfer it back."

"When you've calmed down."

I looked from him to Pamela. Neither appeared surprised. They had known about the transfer before I entered the room.

"How long have you known about them?" I asked Pamela.

"Long enough to know Nadine isn't trying to replace you. Blaine feels responsible for you. He always has. That doesn't mean he should sacrifice every other part of his life."

Responsible for me. The words reduced our marriage to a favor he had grown tired of performing.

"I don't need his charity."

Nadine set down the mug. "Don't you? Blaine said you still leave the hall light on when you sleep. He said some nights you wake up convinced Eric is outside the door."

The room went silent.

I had never told Pamela that. I had never told a doctor. During the worst months after my divorce, I had told Blaine because he was the only person I trusted enough to see me afraid.

Now Nadine knew.

I looked at my husband. He studied the floor.

"What else did you tell her?"

"Corinne," he said, "she was trying to understand you."

"She understood exactly where to cut."

The doorbell rang. Nobody moved, so I answered it.

A courier stood outside with a narrow envelope. "Corinne Hale? I need your signature."

I signed while Blaine watched from the living room. His name wasn't anywhere on the envelope.

"Return my money today."

"Or what?" Pamela asked.

I didn't have an answer she would believe.

I stepped outside and opened the envelope.

The letter contained only a name, an address, and two sentences.

Ms. Hale, I represent the estate of your late grandmother, Lenora Hale. To learn what she placed in your name, you must appear in person with identification.