Chapter 2 - What the Folder Was Trying to Say
Lucas got Gwen upstairs, sat her on the edge of their bed, and knelt to take off her shoes because her hands were shaking too badly to do it.
Downstairs he could hear chairs scraping, the front door opening and closing, Brenda telling her guests in a tight voice that lunch was over. No one came up to apologize.
Gwen pressed a hand to the underside of her stomach and breathed carefully. “I wasn’t trying to embarrass you.”
“You didn’t embarrass me.” Lucas handed her water. “My mother did.”
She swallowed, then looked past him to the nursery paint samples still taped to the dresser. “I found the charges last week. Tasha sent over the quarterly expense packet because she knew I was reconciling our household budget before the baby. There were company reimbursements to something called Mercer Logistics, and some of them didn’t match the storage rates in the contract file.”
Lucas sat back on his heels. “Mercer is the warehouse partner on the south side.”
“I know. That’s why I kept looking. There were extra invoices. Lunches. Florist bills. A jewelry store in Buckhead coded as client entertainment.”
He rubbed a hand over his face. Dawson Freight had grown too fast in the last two years. A new warehouse, more routes, thinner margins. The bank was deciding that afternoon whether to renew the line of credit they needed for payroll and fuel.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
Gwen looked at him then, really looked at him. “Because every time I’ve said your mom was overstepping, you said she helped build the company, she was lonely after your dad died, she meant well. And because I didn’t want another fight in this house while my blood pressure’s already high.”
Lucas stared at the open door. Brenda had put $90,000 of her retirement money into the business during the pandemic. He had never forgotten it. Maybe that was the problem.
Gwen inhaled sharply and grabbed the comforter.
“What?”
“It’s tight again.”
The expression on her face made his chest go cold. Their obstetrician had already warned them twice about stress and preterm contractions.
May you like
Lucas reached for his phone.
“We’re going to Northside. Right now.”
