Chapter 4
Richard disconnected the call.
For several seconds, none of us moved.
Then Nathan looked toward the camera.
“She's watching us.”
My skin crawled.
Richard stood on a chair and reached for it.
“Wait,” I said.
He stopped.
“If she's monitoring the room, don't destroy anything yet.”
Nathan nodded.
“Photograph it.”
We documented everything.
The camera.
The folders.
The cabinet.
The photographs.
Richard called an attorney before Isabella could reach the house.
That was how serious things had become.
Her name was Evelyn Grant.
She had handled business contracts for Richard's company for years.
When she arrived, she didn't react dramatically.
She looked at the cabinet.
Then the camera.
Then the bank records.
Finally, she said:
“Do not confront your wife alone.”
Richard looked offended.
“She's my wife.”
“And right now, you don't know what else she has done.”
That silenced him.
Evelyn advised Richard to freeze large transfers on their joint investment accounts.
Not empty them.
Not hide money.
Just require two-party authorization for withdrawals.
Then she told him to change the passwords on his personal accounts.
Nathan watched quietly.
I could see him grieving while trying not to show it.
His wedding had ended less than twenty-four hours earlier.
Instead of starting our honeymoon, he was watching his parents' marriage collapse.
I took his hand.
He squeezed mine.
Richard called Isabella again.
No answer.
An hour later, she texted.
I need time.
Then:
You had no right to invade my privacy.
Richard stared at the message.
“My privacy.”
He laughed bitterly.
“You investigated my daughter-in-law.”
He typed a reply.
Come home. We need to talk.
She answered:
Not with Rachel there.
I felt the sting.
Even now.
Still blaming me.
Nathan saw my face.
He took his father's phone and typed.
Rachel stays.
Isabella responded almost immediately.
Of course she does.
Nathan handed the phone back.
“She isn't coming.”
Richard looked exhausted.
“She'll come when she realizes the money is frozen.”
He was right.
At six that evening, a car pulled into the driveway.
Isabella walked in carrying an overnight bag.
She stopped when she saw Evelyn.
Her face changed.
“Why is there an attorney in my house?”
Richard stood.
“Sit down.”
“I asked a question.”
“So did I.”
His voice was unlike anything I had heard before.
Quiet.
Firm.
No apology.
Isabella looked at Nathan.
“You let him do this?”
Nathan stared at her.
“Do what?”
“Turn our family into a legal investigation?”
Nathan laughed in disbelief.
“You hired a private investigator to follow my wife.”
Isabella's eyes flashed toward me.
“I had concerns.”
“About what?”
“She came into your life very quickly.”
I nearly spoke.
Nathan beat me to it.
“We dated three years before I proposed.”
“That doesn't mean anything.”
Richard interrupted.
“Who is Daniel Cole?”
Everything stopped.
Isabella's face lost color.
That was answer enough.
Richard's voice broke.
“Who is he?”
She recovered quickly.
“A consultant.”
Nathan actually laughed.
“A consultant you kiss?”
Isabella stared at him.
“You went through my private things.”
Richard slammed the photograph onto the table.
“You spent seventy-two thousand dollars.”
“I can explain.”
“Then explain.”
She looked at Evelyn.
“I won't discuss my marriage in front of an attorney.”
Evelyn calmly gathered her papers.
“That's fine.”
She stood.
“I'll wait in the other room.”
Isabella looked relieved.
Then Evelyn added:
“But I recommend Richard record nothing secretly, sign nothing, transfer nothing, and make no verbal financial agreements until the records are reviewed.”
Isabella's jaw tightened.
Evelyn left.
Richard sat across from his wife.
Nathan and I remained.
Isabella looked at us.
“You don't belong in this conversation.”
Nathan didn't move.
“You made Rachel part of your private investigation.”
He crossed his arms.
“You made me part of your lies.”
He pointed toward the table.
“We belong here.”
Isabella stared at him.
Then finally looked at Richard.
“Daniel was a mistake.”
Richard's face twitched.
“How long?”
“It's over.”
“How long?”
She closed her eyes.
“Eighteen months.”
Richard leaned back.
Like someone had punched him.
Eighteen months.
Almost exactly the period when wedding planning had become serious.
Nathan whispered:
“Were you seeing him while you were lecturing Rachel about family loyalty?”
Isabella's face hardened.
“That has nothing to do with this.”
“It has everything to do with this.”
Richard looked at her.
“Why did you pay him?”
She swallowed.
“He invested money for me.”
“How much?”
“He had opportunities.”
“Isabella.”
“Some of those transfers were investments.”
“Some?”
She hesitated.
Richard nodded slowly.
“So some were gifts.”
No answer.
He rubbed his face.
“Did you take money from our retirement to give to your boyfriend?”
“He wasn't my boyfriend.”
“Then what was he?”
Her silence said enough.
Then Isabella looked at me.
“This is what you wanted.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“To destroy us.”
Nathan stood immediately.
“Stop.”
She ignored him.
“You've been trying to separate Nathan from this family since the beginning.”
I felt something inside me finally snap.
“No.”
My voice was calm.
“You keep saying that because the truth is worse.”
She blinked.
“You don't hate me because I took Nathan away.”
I continued.
“You hate me because Nathan grew up.”
Her face tightened.
“You hate that he has someone else to consider.”
“Rachel.”
Nathan touched my arm.
I shook my head.
“No.”
I needed to say it.
“You treated our wedding like proof that you were losing control.”
Isabella laughed sharply.
“You think you're a therapist now?”
“No.”
“I think you tore my dress because I had a moment with my mother that wasn't about you.”
Her eyes flickered.
“You investigated me because you wanted a reason to tell Nathan I wasn't good enough.”
She looked away.
“And when you couldn't find one, you invented problems.”
“I was protecting my son.”
“No.”
Nathan spoke behind me.
“You were protecting your position.”
Isabella's face crumpled.
For one second, real pain appeared.
“I gave you everything.”
Nathan's anger softened.
“I know.”
“I built my life around you.”
“I know.”
“And now you stand here with her and judge me.”
Nathan looked heartbroken.
“That was your choice, Mom.”
She wiped her eyes.
“You'll understand when you have children.”
“No.”
His voice was gentle.
“If I have children, I hope I understand that they're allowed to leave me.”
That broke her composure.
She began crying.
Richard watched silently.
Then he asked one final question.
“Did Daniel know you were married?”
Isabella froze.
Richard noticed.
“So he didn't.”
“I didn't say that.”
“You didn't have to.”
He stood.
“I want you to leave tonight.”
She stared at him.
“This is my house.”
“And half of it is mine.”
His voice cracked.
“I need space before I decide what happens next.”
Isabella looked at Nathan.
“You're letting him throw me out?”
Nathan shook his head.
“This isn't my marriage.”
“So you'll defend Rachel but not me.”
“I defended Rachel because you attacked her.”
He swallowed.
“I am not protecting you from consequences anymore.”
That sentence seemed to hit her harder than anything else.
She took her bag.
Before leaving, she turned toward me.
“If your mother hadn't manipulated you with her illness, none of this would've happened.”
The room went completely still.
I couldn't process the words.
Nathan could.
He crossed the room instantly.
“Get out.”
Isabella blinked.
“Nathan—”
“Get out.”
Richard opened the door.
Isabella finally realized she had gone too far.
She left without another word.
The door closed.
I stood frozen.
Nathan turned to me.
“Rachel.”
I shook my head.
“Don't.”
I didn't want comfort.
Not yet.
Because her words had reached exactly where she intended.
Mom's illness.
My greatest fear.
My softest place.
Then my phone rang.
Dad.
I answered immediately.
“Dad?”
His breathing sounded wrong.
My stomach dropped.
“What happened?”
“It's your mother.”
The entire room disappeared around me.
“What about her?”
“She collapsed.”
I grabbed the back of a chair.
“Where?”
“Emergency room.”
Nathan was already reaching for his keys.
May you like
Dad's next words turned my blood cold.
“They think the cancer has spread.”
