Chapter 3 - Eighty-Six Thousand Dollars I Never Sent
My birthday breakfast became coffee at my attorney’s office.
I left the condo before eight.
Mitchell followed me into the hallway.
“We can explain the account.”
“Good.”
I pressed the elevator button.
“Explain it to my lawyer.”
“You’re calling a lawyer because Mom borrowed money?”
“Borrowed from whom?”
“From me.”
“Then why is my name on the account?”
The elevator opened.
He stepped between the doors.
“Because we’re married.”
“Move.”
“Danielle, don’t blow up our marriage over something you don’t understand.”
“You came home smelling like another woman.”
His eyes shifted toward the ceiling.
“Nothing happened.”
“And your mother already knew nothing happened?”
He said nothing.
I stepped into the elevator.
Theresa appeared behind him.
“If you walk out today, don’t expect Mitchell to chase you.”
I looked at her.
“That’s the nicest birthday gift you’ve given me.”
The doors closed.
My attorney, Melissa Grant, had helped with the condo purchase before I married Mitchell.
She was not a divorce lawyer, but she listened carefully before referring me to one in her firm.
That attorney, Priya Nair, asked the questions I had avoided asking myself.
How long had Theresa been staying with us?
What expenses did Mitchell pay?
Did we have joint credit cards?
Joint taxes?
Retirement accounts?
Had I signed anything recently involving refinancing?
“No.”
Then I remembered.
Six months earlier Mitchell had asked me to sign paperwork related to what he called a “household umbrella policy.”
Insurance was his profession.
I barely looked at it.
Priya did not react dramatically.
“Do you still have the paperwork?”
“Probably in email.”
We found it.
It was exactly what Mitchell said it was.
For once, suspicion produced nothing.
Priya seemed almost pleased.
“That’s important too. Don’t assume every unexplained thing is fraud because one thing is suspicious.”
The bank statements required more attention.
The account was genuinely joint.
My name, Social Security number, and home address appeared in the bank profile.
I had no memory of opening it.
The bank would need to review how the account had been established.
Priya told me not to confront Mitchell further until we understood the records.
“And the letter?”
I handed it to her.
I had received it from the condo association’s management office after asking why our monthly assessments suddenly appeared overdue online.
The envelope was still sealed because I wanted a lawyer present.
Priya opened it.
She read the first page.
Then the second.
Her expression changed.
“Danielle, has Mitchell ever been authorized to speak for you regarding the condo?”
“For routine things. Maintenance. Deliveries.”
“Anything financial?”
“No.”
She slid the letter toward me.
It was a notice from the association’s attorney regarding an attempted lien-related payoff inquiry.
Someone had contacted the management company claiming we intended to sell the unit quickly.
The request had been made in my name.
I had never made it.
May you like
And according to the email address listed in the correspondence, Mitchell had not made it either.
The email belonged to Theresa.
