Chapter 2

At seven the next morning, Adam carried his suitcase downstairs.

His clothes were stuffed unevenly inside. A charger cable hung from the half-closed zipper.

“Where’s the travel folder?” he asked.

“Wherever you left it.”

He stared at me, waiting for the version of his wife who would sigh, find his passport and repack the suitcase properly.

I drank my coffee.

Eventually, he found the folder beneath a stack of mail.

A horn sounded outside. The airport shuttle was waiting at the curb. Through its windows, I could see Diane, Lauren and the others already seated inside.

Adam pulled up the handle of his suitcase.

“You’re not even going to say goodbye?”

“Goodbye, Adam.”

His mouth tightened.

“We’ll talk when I get back. You’ll feel differently after you’ve had a week to calm down.”

He carried his suitcase outside.

Lauren watched from the shuttle window. When she saw that I wasn’t following him with another bag, she shook her head and said something to Diane. They both looked toward the house.

Then Adam climbed aboard, and the shuttle drove away.

He never asked what I planned to do while he was gone.

As soon as it disappeared around the corner, I opened our joint credit-card account.

A $3,200 payment to a vacation rental company sat near the top of the page. Beneath it were airline charges and a transfer to Diane marked Hawaii expenses.

They had not only left me out.

They had used our money to do it.

I downloaded the statements and saved copies in a new folder. Then I changed my future payroll deposits to the individual account I had kept from before our marriage. I didn’t touch anything already held jointly.

My phone vibrated.

Lauren had added me to a group chat called Hawaii Family Week.

The first photograph showed all seven of them beneath the airport departure board. A shuttle employee must have taken it. Adam stood between Diane and Lauren, smiling.

Lauren’s caption read:

The whole family is finally on vacation!

A second message followed, sent directly to me.

Mom had to pay a neighbor to care for Winston because you wanted to prove a point. I hope you’re happy.

I saved both screenshots.

They had found someone to care for the dog. Nothing had fallen apart. They simply wanted me to feel guilty because the solution had cost them money instead of costing me time.

I left the group without replying.

An hour later, I sat across from a family lawyer.

She advised me not to empty our joint accounts or hide shared property. I should preserve financial records, photograph the house and move my passport, birth certificate and personal valuables somewhere secure.

“Do you want me to prepare the divorce petition?” she asked.

“Yes. But don’t file it yet.”

When I left her office, Adam’s flight had taken off.

He had sent me the airport photograph again.

See? Everyone’s already relaxed. This kind of trip was never your thing.

I looked at his smiling face in the center of the family he had chosen.

Then I forwarded the photograph, Lauren’s message and the financial statements to my lawyer.

Her reply arrived before I reached my car.

Received. Keep copies of everything.

I put my phone away and opened the checklist she had given me.

The first item was to photograph every room in the house.