Chapter 4 - The Missing Money
Brett had transferred more than two hundred thousand dollars over eight months.
Some payments had gone to construction companies. Others had gone to private lenders Natalie did not recognize.
The final transfer, made two days earlier, had emptied almost everything remaining in the account.
Natalie took screenshots and sent them to Rachel.
Her attorney called within minutes.
“Do you have a separate account?”
“Yes.”
“Can Brett access it?”
“No.”
“Good. I am contacting a forensic accountant. Do not tell Brett what you found.”
Natalie sat on the edge of the bed.
“He stole from us.”
“He may claim the transfers were authorized business investments.”
“They were not.”
“Then we will prove it.”
Outside, Brett knocked on the door.
“Natalie?”
She did not answer.
“Natalie, open the door.”
She placed the phone in her pocket and unlocked it.
Brett entered carrying a tray with tea.
The gesture was so ordinary that it made her skin crawl.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” he said. “I have been under pressure.”
“What kind of pressure?”
“The usual kind.”
“Money?”
His eyes shifted.
Natalie knew he understood immediately.
“You checked the accounts.”
“Yes.”
“I was going to explain.”
“You emptied them.”
“I invested the money.”
“Without telling me.”
“I was trying to create something for our family.”
“You used my income and our savings to cover your debts.”
“They are temporary losses.”
“You lied.”
Brett placed the tray down too hard. Tea spilled across the wooden surface.
“You would not understand the decisions I have to make.”
“I understand that you stole from our marriage.”
“Do not use that word.”
“What word would you prefer?”
Eleanor appeared behind him.
“You are upsetting him.”
Natalie almost laughed.
“I’m upsetting him?”
“He made one financial mistake.”
“Two hundred thousand dollars is not one mistake.”
Eleanor folded her arms.
“The land sale will replace it.”
“The land is not being sold.”
Brett turned away and ran a hand through his hair.
“If you sign the authorization, Hartwell Ridge will release an advance payment.”
“So that is the plan. Use my land to repair the damage you caused.”
“Our damage.”
“No. Yours.”
His voice rose.
“I am your husband.”
“That does not make my inheritance yours.”
“It should.”
The words came out before he could hide them.
Everyone became silent.
Natalie watched his expression change from anger to calculation.
He took a breath.
“I did not mean that.”
“Yes, you did.”
A new alert sounded from every phone in the cabin.
Mandatory evacuation preparation.
Residents in Pine Hollow’s western sector were instructed to pack immediately. Route 18 could close with little notice.
Natalie grabbed her emergency bag.
“We’re leaving now.”
Brett blocked the doorway.
“The order is preparation, not evacuation.”
“The fire crossed the ridge.”
“The main road is still open.”
“That is why we should use it.”
Eleanor looked at Brett.
“Perhaps we should go.”
Natalie noticed the uncertainty in her voice. Eleanor had treated the fire as an inconvenience until that moment.
Brett looked at the unsigned papers on the dresser.
Then he looked at Natalie.
“Sign the authorization, and we leave.”
Tessa gasped.
Eleanor said nothing.
Natalie stared at her husband.
“You are using a wildfire to force me to sign away my property.”
“I am giving you a practical choice.”
“There is no choice.”
“Then stop being difficult.”
Natalie pulled out her phone.
“I’m calling the sheriff.”
Brett stepped aside immediately.
“Fine. Pack the SUV.”
Natalie hesitated.
His surrender was too easy.
But another emergency alert appeared, warning that high winds could push the fire toward the cabin within hours.
She moved past him.
While everyone gathered their belongings, Natalie placed the property documents inside her bag.
May you like
She did not notice Brett remove the bag from the SUV fifteen minutes later.
She also did not see Eleanor take Natalie’s shoes from beside the front door and hide them inside the tool shed.
