Chapter 1 - THE FIRST PAGE
I opened the folder.
The first page was a screenshot of Daniel’s conversation with Chloe.
I had enlarged the text so nobody at the table would need to squint.
At the top was Daniel’s name.
Underneath it was a message sent at 1:14 in the morning.
“Jennifer will cover the remaining party balance.”
Daniel moved so quickly that his chair scraped against the marble floor.
“Close that.”
His voice was barely above a whisper.
I looked at him.
“No.”
His mother, Ruth, leaned forward.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel reached toward the folder.
I placed my hand over it.
“Don’t touch it.”
His father, Frank, slowly lowered his glass.
The people at the nearest tables had stopped pretending not to listen.
Even the banquet manager standing several feet away had gone still.
Daniel forced a laugh.
“This is ridiculous.”
“She’s been exhausted since the baby was born.”
“She doesn’t know what she’s saying.”
I turned the page.
The next screenshot showed a transfer for $2,800.
The recipient was Chloe Bennett.
The memo line said MEDICAL.
Then came another.
$1,600.
RENT.
Another.
$950.
BABY ITEMS.
Another.
$3,200.
HOSPITAL DEPOSIT.
Ruth stared at the papers.
Her mouth slowly opened.
“Who is Chloe Bennett?”
Daniel did not answer.
I did.
“His girlfriend.”
The silence changed.
Before, people had been curious.
Now they were stunned.
Ruth looked at her son.
“Daniel?”
He stood.
“This is not the place.”
I almost smiled.
He had chosen the place.
He had chosen the ballroom.
He had chosen the guests.
He had chosen the speech about being a devoted husband and father.
He had chosen to put a $4,500 balance in front of me while everyone watched.
The only thing he had not chosen was the truth.
I pulled out another page.
This one was a photograph of Daniel and Chloe sitting together in the waiting room of an obstetrics clinic.
I had found it in the hidden conversation.
Chloe had sent it to him with a heart beneath it.
Ruth’s hand flew to her chest.
Frank looked at Daniel with an expression I had never seen before.
Disgust.
Daniel suddenly pointed at me.
“She went through my private messages.”
I blinked.
That was his defense.
Not that the affair was false.
Not that the money had never been sent.
Not that he had lied.
His outrage was that I had discovered it.
I slid another page forward.
“Would you like me to stop?”
Daniel said nothing.
I continued.
The next screenshot contained the message that had kept me awake for months.
Daniel had written it six weeks before Lily was born.
“Just get through the next few months.”
“Jennifer will be on maternity leave and too overwhelmed to notice anything.”
“After the baptism, things get easier.”
Chloe had replied.
“And the hospital bill?”
Daniel’s answer was underneath.
“She’ll pay the banquet balance.”
“That frees up my cash for you and the baby.”
A woman at the next table gasped.
Daniel’s mother turned completely white.
I looked down at the $4,500 bill sitting between us.
Then I looked back at my husband.
“That is why I said this isn’t my child’s party.”
My voice remained calm.
“You used Lily’s baptism as a financial shell game.”
“You emptied money meant for our daughter.”
“You sent it to Chloe.”
“And now you expect me to replace it.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Jennifer, shut up.”
Frank rose from his chair.
“Do not speak to your wife like that.”
Daniel froze.
Frank rarely raised his voice.
He did not need to.
Ruth was crying now.
Not loudly.
She stared at the picture of her son sitting beside another pregnant woman.
“How long?”
Daniel rubbed both hands over his face.
“It is complicated.”
I turned another page.
“Eleven months.”
Ruth looked at me.
“You knew all this?”
“For four months.”
“And you said nothing?”
“I was six months pregnant when I found out.”
Nobody spoke.
“I needed to know how far he was willing to go.”
Daniel stared at me.
There was anger in his face.
But underneath the anger was fear.
He finally understood something.
The folder did not contain a few emotional screenshots.
It contained a timeline.
And I had not reached the worst part yet.
I reached into the back pocket of the folder.
Daniel’s eyes followed my hand.
That was when his face changed again.
Because he recognized the envelope.
He had seen it before.
He simply had no idea I had a copy.
I placed it on the table.
Across the front were the words:
PRIVATE FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS.
Daniel whispered my name.
“Jennifer.”
May you like
I looked at him.
Then I opened the envelope.
