Chapter 2

Ethan came home shortly after ten with the bandage still above his eyebrow and a hospital envelope under his arm.

"The nurse said you came by," he said.

I closed the payroll report on my laptop. "She told me you were going to be fine."

"Why didn't you come in?"

"You had doctors around you. I had a medical center full of patients."

He watched me for a moment. "Did she tell you Vanessa was there?"

I looked up. "Vanessa?"

"The conference ended early, so I drove back. Vanessa called the center because her car had broken down, and I offered her and Leo a ride home. We were rear-ended a few miles from the hospital."

"Is Leo her son?"

"Yes. The accident scared him. He was crying for his father, and I happened to be holding him."

Ethan reached for my hand. I stood and took a bottle of painkillers from the cabinet before he could touch me.

"You should get some sleep," I said.

The following morning, I met Mara at her office with copies of our bank statements and the medical center's ownership documents.

A security alert appeared on my phone while she was reading them.

Ethan had scheduled a wire transfer from our joint account. The money would be released at three o'clock the following afternoon.

The recipient was Northbridge Title. The reference line contained Vanessa Miller's name and an address on Willow Lane.

I searched the address. A real estate listing appeared, marked SALE PENDING.

The money was coming from the account where I had deposited what remained of my inheritance. We had also used it for fertility treatments and the adoption fees Ethan later asked me to abandon.

"Can the bank cancel it?" I asked.

"Ethan is an authorized account holder," Mara said. "They'll need a court order."

"How quickly can we get one?"

"I can file the divorce petition and request an emergency financial order today. After that, we wait for a judge."

"Do it."

Mara set the papers down. "Once we start, you need to be ready for Ethan to find out."

"I am."

Ethan's mother called while I was leaving the building.

"Claire, I heard you came to the hospital," Helen said. "I hope you didn't misunderstand what you saw."

"What was I supposed to misunderstand?"

She hesitated. "Ethan has been the only dependable man in Leo's life. The boy gets confused when he's frightened."

"I see."

"Vanessa has had such a difficult time. Ethan was only trying to help."

The same woman had held me after every failed IVF cycle. Now she was protecting Vanessa.

"Thank you for explaining, Helen."

I ended the call before she could hear my voice shake.

At five that afternoon, Ethan called.

"Vanessa has a prenatal appointment tomorrow," he said. "Could Leo stay with you for a few hours? Mom was supposed to watch him, but something came up."

"What time?"

"She can bring him over around one-thirty. I'll pick him up before dinner."

The wire was scheduled for three.

"All right," I said. "Bring him."

Ethan exhaled. "I knew I could count on you."

When the call ended, I checked the time.

Mara had twenty-two hours to stop the wire.