Chapter 5 - Claire Begins Counting
The following morning, Claire opened a private bank account.
She did it from a computer at the public library while Lily attended school. She deposited the money she had earned from designing invitations for local businesses.
For years, Marcus had described her freelance work as a hobby. He managed their main accounts and reminded her that his salary paid the mortgage.
Claire began collecting copies of financial records.
The more she examined, the more she discovered.
Marcus had withdrawn money from the education savings account Claire’s mother had created for Lily. The piano had not been purchased with Marcus’s personal savings.
Nearly half of the payment had come from Lily’s account.
Claire stared at the statement until the numbers blurred.
That evening, she waited until Lily was asleep.
“You used her education money.”
Marcus sat at the kitchen island, drinking coffee.
“It’s family money.”
“My mother created that account for Lily.”
“And the piano increases the value of the house.”
“You said it was for Ethan.”
“It benefits everyone.”
“Except Lily, who is forbidden to touch it.”
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
“You always make decisions emotional.”
“You took money belonging to our daughter and spent it on something you use to exclude her.”
“I will replace it.”
“When?”
“When you stop interrogating me.”
Claire placed the account statement on the counter.
“I want access to every financial record.”
Marcus smiled without warmth.
“You would not understand them.”
“Try me.”
He stood.
“This is my house, Claire. My income. My responsibility.”
“Then why did you need Lily’s money?”
His expression shifted.
For the first time, she saw uncertainty.
Then he recovered.
“You should be careful,” he said. “You are becoming very difficult to live with.”
Claire folded the statement and placed it in her pocket.
“I think I have been too easy to live with.”
The next day, she contacted a family-law attorney named Renee Walsh.
Claire did not yet say she wanted a divorce.
She said she needed to understand her options.
Renee listened carefully, then asked, “Do you have somewhere safe to go if the situation becomes worse?”
Claire thought of her friend Naomi, who lived fifteen minutes away and had offered help many times.
“Yes.”
“Prepare a bag. Keep documents outside the house. Do not announce your plans before you are ready.”
Claire left the office carrying a folder beneath her cardigan.
May you like
For the first time in months, fear was not the strongest emotion inside her.
It was preparation.
