Chapter 2
Some of the notes were from her: [Michael, you've got this. I believe in you.]
Others said: [You're definitely going to make it this time. I'm waiting for your good news.]
And one more: [Don't worry about my husband. He'll never find out.]
I turned off my phone screen. And I just stood there at the payment window, not moving an inch.
The fluorescent lights in the hallway buzzed with a harsh, electric hum.
The sharp smell of disinfectant stung my nose.
I stood there for what felt like forever. Long enough that the cashier called out to me again.
"Sir, are you going to pay or not?"
My voice came out rough, like I'd swallowed sandpaper. "Wait a minute."
I dug out my credit card from my wallet. It had a 6,700-dollar limit.
I went ahead and paid the deposit.
It wasn't out of pity.
If she died on that table, I'd never get the answers I needed.
After paying, I slumped into a chair in the hallway.
I took screenshots of every transaction and sent them to my own email. Then I opened WhatsApp and checked Julia's chat history.
There's nothing.
It was clean as a whistle.
She'd wiped everything clean.
I checked her contacts. Michael's name wasn't anywhere to be found.
But I remembered. Back in college, she'd mentioned him once. Her ex, Michael, an upperclassman who moved to Bayview City to start a business after graduation. They split up after that.
I didn't think much of it at the time. Everyone had got an ex from college.
But we're talking about 600 thousand dollars here.
Five years.
I went through all her payment app records, every single transaction.
Turns out she had another card I never even knew existed. Every month, she'd move money into it, then funnel it right over to Michael.
She'd set it all up so neatly, like she'd planned it from the start.
I took a deep breath and slipped my phone back into my pocket.
At the end of the hallway, a floor-to-ceiling window showed the city lights outside.
Thousands of lights twinkled in the night.
Suddenly, it all felt ridiculous.
For five years, I thought I was building a home. Turns out, I was another man's ATM.
At 3:12 AM, My mother in law, Linda showed up.
The sharp sound of her heels echoed down the hallway. I heard her coming from far away.
She stormed over and yanked my arm.
"How's Julia? What happened? Why didn't you take better care of her?" Linda demanded.
"She's in the ER," I replied.
"In the ER? How did it get this bad?" Linda's voice went through the roof. "You never pay attention. She told you her stomach's been acting up. DIdn't you even notice?"
I didn't say a word.
She suddenly switched gears. "Did you pay the deposit?"
"Yeah, I did," I said.
"How much did you pay?"
"6700 dollars."
"Is that enough? What about your passbook? You had over 600,000 dollars in there. Go pay some more, don't let the hospital think we're broke."
Frank Stone trailed behind, keeping quiet.
Emily Stone was there too, leaning against the wall and scrolling through her phone.
I looked at Linda.
"Linda, let's talk about the money after Julia's out," I said.
"What do you mean, 'after she's out'? What's with that attitude? Your wife's in there fighting for her life and you're not even worried?" Her voice kept getting louder.
A nurse poked her head out to see what was going on.
"I'm worried, but I need money to pay," I said.
Linda slammed her hand on the armrest. "You make four thousand dollars a month and you've been saving for five years. Don't tell me you don't have any money left. David, are you seriously not willing to spend a dime on Julia?"
My hands clenched into fists and knuckles turned white.
"Mom, I said we'll talk about it when she's out," I said.
"What's with that attitude? Julia's been with you for five years. Has she ever depended on you for anything? She's been working and making money even when she's sick, and look at you now." Linda snapped.
I closed my eyes. I leaned back in the chair, not saying a word.