Chapter 8 - The Husband's Secret
I drove to Evelyn's office before sunrise.
She had already pulled the corporate records.
“Sit down.”
I did.
She pushed a file toward me.
“The LLC was formed three years ago.”
Mark's signature was everywhere.
“So he created it.”
“Yes.”
“And the debt?”
“Private financing.”
“For what?”
Evelyn opened another folder.
“The company borrowed $425,000.”
I stared at the number.
“Where did it go?”
She turned the pages.
A portion went to Lisa.
Another portion went to Diane.
Another went to an account in Mark's name.
“What's that?”
“Personal transfers.”
“For what?”
“Debt.”
I looked at her.
“What kind of debt?”
She slid a statement across the desk.
Credit cards.
Casino withdrawals.
Luxury purchases.
Private loans.
My stomach dropped.
Mark had been gambling.
Not casually.
Thousands at a time.
For years.
“Does he owe all this?”
“Yes.”
“Then why was the loan secured against my house?”
Evelyn looked at me.
“Because whoever financed him believed the property gave them security.”
“But they couldn't legally do that.”
“Not without proper authority.”
“Which they didn't have.”
“Correct.”
“So the lien can be challenged.”
“Yes.”
I leaned back.
“Then why did Diane think the plan would work?”
Evelyn's expression changed.
“Because this wasn't the final plan.”
“What was?”
She opened a document I'd never seen.
It was a proposed assignment of the trust.
I read the language.
Mark would become trustee.
I would become beneficiary only.
Diane would receive monthly distributions.
And if I “voluntarily relocated,” the property could be sold.
I looked at Evelyn.
“She wanted me out.”
“Yes.”
“And Mark?”
“He signed a preliminary version.”
I closed my eyes.
Every memory came rushing back.
Mark telling me I spent too much.
Mark saying the house was “too expensive to maintain.”
Mark suggesting we move somewhere smaller.
Mark asking whether I'd ever consider selling.
It had never been casual.
It had been preparation.
I returned home.
Mark was waiting.
He looked like he hadn't slept.
“Claire.”
“How much do you owe?”
He didn't answer.
“How much?”
“Six hundred thousand.”
I felt numb.
“You put that debt against my property.”
“I was trying to fix it.”
“By risking the only thing you didn't earn.”
“I never meant for you to lose the house.”
“But you were willing to make me fight to keep it.”
He looked at me.
“I thought we could refinance after selling some investments.”
“What investments?”
He looked away.
“The trust.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
“Claire…”
“No.”
I opened the front door.
He didn't move.
“You need to leave.”
“Where am I supposed to go?”
“With your mother.”
“She won't take me.”
I almost smiled.
“That is not my problem.”
He stepped closer.
“I love you.”
I shook my head.
“You love what being married to me made possible.”
He started crying.
“I know I ruined it.”
“Yes.”
Then his phone rang.
He ignored it.
It rang again.
Then again.
Finally, he answered.
I could hear Lisa screaming through the speaker.
“Where is the money?”
Mark's face changed.
“I don't know.”
“You promised me!”
“I said I was trying.”
“You said Claire would sign!”
Silence.
Then Lisa said:
“She has the recordings.”
Mark looked at me.
My heart pounded.
“What recordings?”
Lisa didn't realize the call was on speaker.
“She knows about Mom's plan.”
Then, after a pause:
“She knows about the hospital.”
I looked at Mark.
“The hospital?”
Lisa's voice went quiet.
“What?”
“What did you just say?”
The line went dead.
I turned toward Mark.
“What hospital?”
He wouldn't look at me.
“Tell me.”
“Claire…”
“Now.”
He sat down.
“My father didn't die of a heart attack.”
I stared.
“What?”
“He died in the hospital.”
“I know.”
“No.”
He looked up.
“He was there because Diane had changed his medication.”
My blood ran cold.
“Why?”
Mark whispered:
“Because he was going to tell your grandmother what she'd done with the money.”
I couldn't breathe.
Then someone knocked on the door.
Three slow knocks.
A woman's voice came from the other side.
“Claire?”
I knew that voice.
May you like
Diane.
“It's time you heard what really happened six years ago.”
