Chapter 7

I sat in the car for a long time.

My sister tapped gently on the window.

“Come inside. Lucy’s looking for you in the backyard.”

I nodded and got out, phone in hand.

Lucy was sitting at the edge of the patio, throwing a tennis ball for the dog. When she saw me, she held up her half-eaten maple donut.

“Mommy, Auntie said I could have another half.”

“You can.”

I stroked her hair. She smiled and ran back onto the grass, the dog darting past her feet after the ball.

Once she was playing again, I followed my sister into the kitchen.

She set the coffee on the island and gave me a moment.

“Tell me what you want to do.”

I placed my phone on the counter. The transfer history was still on the screen.

“I want a divorce,” I said. “But first, I need to protect Lucy and our money.”

My sister didn’t ask whether I was acting on impulse.

She simply picked up her phone.

“I know a family law attorney named Helen. She’s good with separations and marital assets. I’ll send you her number now.”

Half an hour later, Helen listened to my explanation over the phone, then asked a few questions.

Who had opened the joint account?

Was my paycheck deposited directly into it?

Whose name was on the deed to the house?

Had Mark acknowledged the transfers in writing?

Her voice was calm and clear.

“Don’t empty the account or move large sums on your own. Save all the statements, transfer memos, and messages. Starting today, have your pay deposited into a separate account. Change the passwords for your online banking, email, and credit card accounts.”

“What about the automatic transfers from our joint account?”

“Go to the bank tomorrow and ask whether you can revoke the authorization for recurring transfers to outside accounts, or require both account holders to approve large withdrawals. After we meet, I’ll help you work out how to protect your assets and handle the separation.”

After hanging up, I logged into my company’s HR portal and changed my direct deposit information.

When I clicked Confirm, I didn’t feel the sadness I had expected.

It felt like finally shutting a window that had been letting in a draft for far too long.

My phone vibrated on the island.

Mark was calling.

I didn’t answer.

A message followed almost immediately.

“Where did you take Lucy?”

I didn’t reply.

Then came another.

“Sophie’s already gone. Stop making a fuss and bring Lucy home.”

My sister’s expression hardened when she saw it.

“He still thinks you’re the one causing trouble.”

I stared at the screen, then slowly typed my response.

“Lucy and I are staying with my sister for now. Please confirm any plans involving Lucy in writing ahead of time. I’ve saved the transfer records from our joint account.”

A few minutes later, Mark replied.

“You’re going to tear this family apart over a little money?”

My fingers went still.

Saving the evidence wasn’t what had broken our family.

He had done that by leaving Lucy waiting beside an empty chair, again and again. By handing our money to Sophie without once thinking he owed me an explanation.

I didn’t reply.

That evening, Lucy ate two pieces of a maple donut at my sister’s dining table, then carefully broke up a dog biscuit for the Labrador.

She looked up at me.

“Mommy, is Daddy coming to pick me up?”

I wiped the frosting off her fingers.

“If he wants to see you, he’ll let us know what time first.”

Lucy nodded and didn’t ask again.

I went back to the guest room and opened my work inbox. It had been a long time since I had looked through it carefully.

At the top of the unread messages was an email from my boss.

The subject line read:

Riverside Project Bid: Would You Like to Lead?

I had turned down that opportunity three years earlier, after Mark told me, “We need you more at home.”

This time, I opened the email and replied:

“Yes. I’d like to take the lead.”