Chapter 3 - THE MAN IN THE REFLECTION
The man reflected in Diane’s dining-room window was Jason’s uncle, Robert Bennett.
I hadn’t known he was there.
Robert was supposed to be in Milwaukee.
At least that was what the family had told me.
Caroline zoomed in.
“He’s recording.”
My stomach dropped.
In the reflection, Robert held a phone near his chest.
The camera was pointed toward the table.
“Why would he be filming?”
Caroline paused the video.
“That’s what we’re going to find out.”
Robert had always made me uncomfortable.
He was Diane’s younger brother.
He owned a chain of small medical supply companies and liked reminding everyone how successful he was.
He also had a habit of knowing things he shouldn’t.
My salary.
My credit score.
How much debt I had before marrying Jason.
Once, during Christmas dinner, he had joked that he knew my Social Security number.
Everyone laughed.
I didn’t.
Caroline leaned back.
“Do you and Jason share bank accounts?”
“One joint checking account.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
“Mortgage?”
“The condo is Diane’s.”
“Car?”
“In Jason’s name.”
“Credit cards?”
“One joint card.”
She wrote everything down.
“Any accounts you don’t recognize?”
“I don’t know.”
“That needs to change today.”
For the next two hours, we pulled records.
And found the first surprise.
A credit card in my name.
Opened eleven months earlier.
Balance: $18,442.
I stared at the screen.
“That isn’t mine.”
Caroline looked at me.
“Are you sure?”
“I have never seen that account.”
There were charges from hotels.
Electronics.
Restaurants.
A jewelry store.
Then a $6,000 cash advance.
My hands began to shake.
“Jason.”
Caroline didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
We pulled another report.
A personal loan.
$22,000.
My name.
Jason’s address.
Electronic signature.
I felt sick.
“How?”
Caroline asked, “Did he have access to your personal information?”
“All of it.”
“Tax records?”
“Yes.”
“Passwords?”
“Some.”
“Copies of your ID?”
“Yes.”
She looked at me steadily.
“Emily, this isn’t just divorce anymore.”
My phone buzzed.
Jason.
I answered.
Caroline immediately turned on a recorder.
“Where are you?” Jason demanded.
“Why?”
“Mom had to go to the hospital.”
“Is she dying?”
Silence.
“No.”
“Then I’m busy.”
“You assaulted me.”
“You watched your mother hit Lily.”
“You hit me three times.”
“You said Lily needed to learn.”
More silence.
His voice changed.
“What are you talking about?”
“The livestream.”
“I don’t know what you think you heard.”
“I heard you.”
“You’re twisting things.”
“Did you open a credit card in my name?”
Nothing.
Not even breathing.
Then he said, “What?”
“The card, Jason.”
“You’re acting insane.”
“And the personal loan?”
He hung up.
Caroline smiled without humor.
“That reaction tells me plenty.”
My phone buzzed again.
This time, Brooke.
I declined.
Then a voicemail arrived.
I played it.
Brooke was crying.
“You’re destroying Mom over nothing.”
Then her voice sharpened.
“If you keep digging into things that don’t concern you, you’re going to regret it.”
Caroline stopped the recording.
“She knows.”
“Knows what?”
“Maybe the debt.”
“Brooke?”
“Or something worse.”
I thought about Uncle Robert.
The reflection.
The secret recording.
The accounts opened in my name.
Then Caroline asked one question that changed everything.
“Emily, did Jason ever ask you to sign documents when Lily was born?”
“Yes.”
“What documents?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Think.”
I closed my eyes.
Hospital room.
Newborn Lily sleeping against me.
Jason bringing papers.
Saying they were insurance forms.
“Jason had me sign something.”
Caroline leaned forward.
“Did you read it?”
“No.”
Her expression hardened.
“Then we need to find out what you signed.”
That afternoon, Caroline’s investigator called.
May you like
He had found the document.
And when he told us what it was, I nearly dropped the phone.
