Chapter 2 - RACHEL“Who is Rachel?”
Brandon locked his phone.
“Nobody.”
I almost smiled.
“Nobody doesn't usually call you three times.”
“She works with me.”
“At ten thirty at night?”
“She needed something.”
I stepped closer.
“What did she need?”
“It's work, Emily.”
I nodded slowly.
“Then call her back.”
“What?”
“Put it on speaker.”
His jaw tightened.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because you look scared.”
He shoved his phone into his pocket.
“You're imagining things.”
“No.”
I wasn't imagining anything.
I'd spent the entire weekend alone with two babies while he was drinking beer beside a lake.
I didn't have the energy left for lies.
I picked up my bags.
“I don't care who Rachel is.”
He blinked.
“You don't?”
“No.”
I walked toward the door.
“Because whatever she is, whatever you've been doing, I'm done investigating your excuses.”
He grabbed my wrist.
“Emily, wait.”
I pulled away.
“Don't touch me.”
He immediately released me.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then Brandon whispered, “Where are you going?”
“Somewhere I can breathe.”
“My parents' house?”
“No.”
“My sister?”
“No.”
“Then where?”
I looked at him.
“You don't need to know.”
That terrified him more than yelling ever could.
He followed me to the driveway.
“You can't just leave with my daughters.”
I turned around.
“Our daughters.”
“I have rights.”
“So do I.”
He looked angry now.
“You're making this bigger than it needs to be.”
I laughed.
“Four days ago, you left me alone with two babies because you wanted to go fishing. You came home and found me packing because I finally realized I was married to someone who thinks parenting is babysitting.”
His face hardened.
“I work.”
“So did I.”
“Not anymore.”
The words came out casually.
But they burned.
He realized his mistake immediately.
“You know what I mean.”
“No.”
I stared at him.
“Tell me exactly what you mean.”
Silence.
Then his phone buzzed again.
Rachel.
I watched him look at the screen.
This time, he didn't reject the message.
He opened it.
His eyes widened.
I couldn't help noticing.
“What did she say?”
“Nothing.”
I held out my hand.
“Show me.”
“No.”
“Then we're done here.”
I loaded the girls into my car.
Brandon stood in the driveway.
As I closed the door, he yelled:
“Emily!”
I looked back.
He was holding his phone.
“She says there was another problem.”
“What problem?”
He looked at me.
And for the first time, I saw genuine fear.
“The account.”
“What account?”
He swallowed.
“Our joint savings.”
My stomach dropped.
“How much is in it?”
He didn't answer.
“Brandon.”
“Nothing.”
I froze.
“What?”
He whispered,
“There’s almost nothing left.”
I stared at him.
“How much?”
He looked away.
“Eight hundred and twelve dollars.”
Our savings had been nearly $74,000.
I didn't speak.
Neither did he.
Then another notification appeared on his phone.
Rachel had sent a photo.
Brandon quickly turned the screen away.
But I caught one thing before he did.
It was a bank statement.
And at the bottom was a name I recognized.
Brandon Carter.
May you like
But the account wasn't ours.
It was an account I had never heard of.
