Chapter 3

I went back inside long enough to get my identification.

Blaine reached for the letter, but I folded it and slipped it into my coat pocket.

"What did your grandmother leave you?" he asked.

"You decided I can't make financial decisions. Why would I involve you in one?"

Pamela's lips thinned. Blaine looked as if I had broken a rule he hadn't known he needed to state.

Behind them, Nadine picked up her car keys.

"I'll get my bags," she said.

I stopped at the foot of the stairs. "Your what?"

Blaine stepped between us. "Nadine is going to stay here while we sort this out."

"No."

"This is my house, Corinne."

"And I'm your wife."

"Then start acting like one."

Nadine returned with a suitcase and set it inside the door. Pamela watched without a trace of surprise.

They had planned this before I knew there was anything to forgive.

"If she stays, I don't," I said.

Blaine gave a tired shake of his head. "You always turn fear into an ultimatum."

"This isn't fear."

"Last night you couldn't even book yourself a hotel. Where will you go now?"

I thought of the address inside my pocket.

"I'll manage."

I went upstairs, put my identification and a change of clothes into my bag, and carried it down. Nadine's suitcase now stood beside mine at the foot of the stairs. One bag was coming in, one was going out, and Blaine watched as if the exchange were reasonable.

Blaine opened the front door. "If you leave like this, don't come back until you're ready to apologize."

He held out his hand for my key.

For years, I had mistaken his certainty for strength. Now I saw what it required from me: obedience, gratitude, and silence.

I placed the key in his palm.

"You'll be back by dinner," he said.

I left without answering.

The address in the letter led me to a small, quiet office above a bank. Gideon Price checked my identification before unlocking a thick file bearing my name.

"I haven't seen my grandmother since I was a child," I said.

"She knew. She also knew the separation wasn't your choice."

He slid an old envelope across the desk. My name was written in Lenora's hand, the same sloping script I remembered from birthday cards she had sent before my mother cut contact.

I didn't open it yet.

"Tell me what she left."

Gideon turned the file toward me. The first page carried my full name and a trust seal. The pages behind it listed properties, managed investments, and accounts established long before my marriage to Blaine.

I read every line I could understand. "Why didn't I know about this?"

"Your grandmother restricted access during her lifetime. Her death transferred full control to you. We spent months locating you because your mother had severed contact and our records were decades out of date."

"Does my husband have any claim to it?"

"The trust predates your marriage, and it has never been combined with marital property. He has no authority over it."

Gideon opened a drawer and placed a set of keys beside the file.

"The trust owns several homes, including one here in the city. You can move in today."

I thought of Blaine waiting for me to return by dinner.

"Don't contact my husband," I said. "Let him keep waiting."