Chapter 3
I stared at my phone long after Victor stopped speaking.
Almost two hundred thousand dollars.
Missing.
From the company accounts I had spent years keeping organized.
"Victor," I whispered, "are you sure?"
"I've checked three times."
I stood and closed my bedroom door.
Daniel was downstairs watching television.
The children were asleep.
"What exactly doesn't match?"
Victor took a shaky breath.
"Several transfers were recorded as subcontractor payments, but I can't find the corresponding invoices."
My mind immediately began reviewing the accounts.
I remembered the subcontractor names.
The project schedules.
The payment approvals.
Nothing seemed right.
"Who authorized them?"
Another pause.
"Daniel."
My stomach tightened.
"Are you certain?"
"His credentials were used."
I sat on the bed.
I wanted to tell Victor to send me everything.
I wanted to open my laptop and spend the night fixing the problem.
That was what I always did.
Whenever something went wrong, I stepped in.
I protected Daniel.
I protected the company.
I protected everyone from consequences.
But I had promised myself that things would change.
"Victor, you need to speak with the company's accountant."
"We don't have an outside accountant anymore."
I froze.
"What?"
"Daniel canceled the contract two months ago."
I closed my eyes.
Our accountant, Mrs. Peterson, had been excellent.
She was careful, experienced, and honest.
I had personally recommended her.
"Why would he cancel it?"
Victor hesitated.
"He said it was an unnecessary expense."
I nearly laughed.
Mrs. Peterson cost the company less than the amount Daniel spent entertaining clients.
But he considered professional financial oversight unnecessary.
"Victor, hire an independent accountant immediately. Preserve the records."
"Should I tell Daniel?"
"Yes."
"He's going to be furious."
I swallowed.
"Then let him be furious."
After ending the call, I sat in silence.
I had spent years treating Daniel's anger like an emergency.
If he was frustrated, I fixed things.
If he was embarrassed, I protected him.
If he made mistakes, I quietly corrected them.
But that night, I realized something.
His feelings were not more important than the truth.
The next morning, Daniel stormed into our bedroom.
"Did Victor call you?"
I was folding Lily's clean uniforms.
"Yes."
His eyes narrowed.
"What did he say?"
I placed the uniforms on the chair.
"He found discrepancies in the accounts."
Daniel laughed sharply.
"Victor is an idiot."
I looked at him.
"Did you approve the transfers?"
His expression changed.
"What transfers?"
"The payments totaling almost two hundred thousand dollars."
He stared at me.
"Why are you interrogating me?"
"Because you asked what Victor said."
He paced across the room.
"Those are business expenses."
"Then there should be invoices."
His jaw tightened.
"I don't have to explain my company to you."
I nodded.
"You're right."
That seemed to surprise him.
I continued.
"You're responsible for explaining it to the people who legally oversee the accounts."
His face darkened.
"Don't start acting like some financial expert."
I looked at him.
"I handled the bookkeeping for six years."
"You entered numbers into a computer."
I took a breath.
"Then you should have no problem managing those numbers without me."
I walked past him.
He grabbed my arm.
Not hard enough to injure me, but firmly enough to stop me.
"Amara, you're going to fix this."
I looked down at his hand.
"Let go."
He hesitated.
Then released me.
"I said you're going to fix it."
"No."
His face flushed.
"What did you say?"
"I said no."
He stared as though I had spoken another language.
I continued.
"I will cooperate with any legitimate investigation into records I maintained. But I won't hide mistakes or take responsibility for decisions I didn't make."
He stepped backward.
"You're trying to ruin me."
I shook my head.
"No, Daniel. I'm allowing you to be responsible for your own choices."
That afternoon, Evelyn called.
I knew Daniel had complained to her.
She didn't bother greeting me.
"Amara, what nonsense is this?"
I closed my eyes.
"Good afternoon, Evelyn."
"Don't good-afternoon me. My son says you've abandoned your duties."
I looked around my kitchen.
The children were at school.
The laundry was running.
Groceries had been delivered.
Everything they needed was taken care of.
But Evelyn wasn't concerned about them.
She was concerned about her son's convenience.
"Daniel is an adult," I said.
"He works hard to provide for you!"
"And I've worked hard to support this family."
She laughed.
"Support? With whose money?"
I took a slow breath.
"Is there something you need, Evelyn?"
"Yes. I need you to stop embarrassing my son."
I felt a familiar ache.
For years, I had tried to earn her approval.
I cooked her favorite meals.
Remembered her birthdays.
Drove her to appointments.
Paid for repairs at her house using money from our joint household account.
Nothing was ever enough.
"I won't discuss my marriage with you," I said.
She gasped.
"How dare you!"
"Goodbye, Evelyn."
I ended the call.
Then I stared at my phone.
My hands were shaking.
But I felt strangely proud.
That evening, I attended an online orientation for returning students.
Professor Carter had helped me register.
I sat at the dining table wearing headphones while Lily completed her homework beside me.
She looked at my laptop.
"Mommy, are you going back to school?"
I smiled.
"Yes."
Her face lit up.
"Really?"
"Really."
She threw her arms around me.
"I'm so proud of you!"
I laughed through sudden tears.
"Thank you, baby."
Noah wandered into the room.
"Does that mean we'll all have homework?"
I smiled.
"Probably."
He groaned dramatically.
"That's terrible!"
We laughed together.
For the first time in months, our house felt peaceful.
Then Daniel came home.
He saw my laptop.
"What are you doing?"
"Studying."
He frowned.
"For what?"
"I'm finishing my accounting degree."
He stared.
Then laughed.
"You're serious?"
"Yes."
He shook his head.
"Amara, you're thirty-four."
I looked at him.
"I'm aware."
"Why would you waste money on college now?"
Lily stopped writing.
I felt the familiar anger rise.
But this time, I didn't swallow it.
"Because I want to."
Daniel looked offended.
"That's not a reason."
"It's enough of one."
His jaw tightened.
"We need to discuss our finances."
"Then let's discuss them after the children are asleep."
He looked at Lily.
Then at Noah.
Finally, he walked away.
Later that night, Daniel opened his banking app at the kitchen table.
He looked nervous.
"Amara, I need you to transfer money from our savings."
I stared at him.
"How much?"
"One hundred thousand dollars."
My heart stopped.
"For what?"
"Temporary company expenses."
I leaned forward.
"Which expenses?"
He looked away.
"Payroll. Suppliers. Things like that."
I shook my head.
"No."
His expression hardened.
"That money belongs to both of us."
"Exactly. Which means we both have a say."
He slammed his phone onto the table.
"You're being selfish."
I opened the shared savings statement.
Then I froze.
A transfer had been made three days earlier.
Thirty thousand dollars.
I hadn't authorized it.
I looked up.
"Daniel, where did this money go?"
He stared at the screen.
May you like
His face went pale.
And for the first time since I'd known him, my husband looked genuinely afraid of the answer.
