Chương 13
“Yes.”
My voice changed.
It became quieter.
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”
Julian did not answer for a long time.
When he finally spoke, he sounded smaller.
“Because every version made me worse.”
I looked at the mess in the kitchen.
The half-covered food.
The abandoned cups.
The zero balloon moving gently outside.
“That didn’t stop you from doing worse things.”
“I know.”
“Did Tessa sign something?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“A settlement agreement.”
“Confidential?”
“Yes.”
“So why are you still paying someone not to sue you?”
“I’m not.”
I froze.
“What?”
“The settlement was finished months ago.”
I looked at the phone.
“Then why did you say you needed the money because you were paying someone not to sue you?”
“Because that’s where most of Sophie’s money went.”
“Most.”
“Yes.”
“What about the rest?”
Julian went silent again.
I felt anger rise, but underneath it was something closer to dread.
“How much rest?”
“About six thousand.”
“For what?”
He did not answer.
“Julian.”
“I gave it to Tessa.”
My grip tightened.
“You just said the settlement was twenty-five.”
“It was.”
“Then why another six?”
“That wasn’t settlement money.”
“What was it?”
He exhaled.
“She contacted me privately afterward.”
My stomach dropped.
“Why?”
“She said Helix had discovered more expense issues.”
“What issues?”
“Charges from before she filed the complaint.”
“How did she know?”
“She had copies.”
“Did Helix?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did she want?”
“She said if I paid her six thousand, she would destroy them.”
I stared at the counter.
“That sounds like extortion.”
“Yes.”
“Did you go to your lawyer?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because if the documents were real, I didn’t want anyone else seeing them.”
“What documents?”
Julian did not answer.
“Were the expenses personal?”
“Yes.”
“How personal?”
He breathed in.
I heard traffic faintly behind him through the phone.
“Hotels.”
My whole body went still.
“What hotels?”
“Claire.”
“With who?”
“No one.”
I almost screamed.
“Do not insult me with that answer.”
“They weren’t for an affair.”
“Then what?”
He hesitated.
“Poker.”
The answer was so unexpected that for a moment I thought I had misheard.
“What?”
“Private games.”
I sat down again.
“You gamble?”
“Not anymore.”
“How long?”
“A few years.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
“You know.”
“Probably forty thousand over time.”
My breath caught.
“Forty.”
“Not all losses.”
“That is not better.”
“I know.”
“You charged gambling-related hotel stays to your employer.”
“Yes.”
“And meals.”
“Yes.”
“And travel?”
“A couple flights.”
I stared at the wall.
The shape of him kept changing.
Husband.
Unemployed husband.
Secretly employed husband.
Husband planning to leave.
Husband hiding company money.
Husband taking from our daughter.
Husband fired for expense misconduct.
Husband with a gambling problem.
I could barely keep up.
“Did you gamble after losing your job?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Why should I believe you?”
He said nothing.
“Did you gamble with Nathan’s money?”
“No.”
“With Sophie’s?”
“No.”
“With our savings?”
“Before Helix, yes.”
I shut my eyes.
“How much do we actually have?”
“Claire.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“You know more than I do.”
“Maybe twenty-two thousand liquid.”
I felt sick.
I had believed we were closer to nine.
Because that was what he told me.
“Where?”
“Different accounts.”
“How many?”
“Three.”
I laughed softly.
“Of course.”
“I’ll send everything.”
“You said that already.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“Now.”
“I’m not at my computer.”
“You have a phone.”
“Some statements are PDF.”
“Then go upstairs and get your laptop.”
Silence.
I frowned.
“What?”
“I’m not at the apartment.”
The sentence landed softly.
Almost gently.
“Where are you?”
Julian said nothing.
“Where are you?”
“At a bar.”
I closed my eyes.
“Which one?”
“I don’t think that matters.”
“It matters if you’re drinking and planning to drive.”
“I’m not driving.”
“Then how did you get there?”
“Rideshare.”
At least one sensible decision.
The bar noise became clearer now that I knew what I was hearing.
Glasses.
Music.
Voices.
“Are you gambling?”
“No.”
“Is there poker there?”
“No.”
“Then why are you at a bar?”
“Because I didn’t want to sit alone in that apartment.”
I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
Then I looked at Sophie’s statement.
“Go back there.”
“Claire.”
“Send me every account statement.”
“And the settlement agreement.”
He went quiet.
“Julian.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t have it.”
“Your lawyer does.”
“Yes.”
“Then request it.”
“He won’t send it tonight.”
“Fine.”
“Claire.”
“What?”
“If you talk to Tessa, be careful.”
I frowned.
“Why would I talk to her?”
“Because I know you.”
“You don’t get to say that tonight.”
“I mean you’ll want to verify everything.”
He was right.
I hated that too.
“What am I supposed to be careful about?”
“She hates me.”
“That sounds increasingly understandable.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
“She may tell you things in the worst possible way.”
“Are they true?”
Silence.
My heartbeat accelerated again.
“What else is there?”
“I don’t know what she’ll say.”
“That is not the same as there being nothing else.”
“No.”
“Julian.”
“I told you about the expenses.”
“What else?”
“She accused me of something else during the HR investigation.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“What?”
He breathed out slowly.
“Harassment.”
The kitchen disappeared around me for a second.
“What kind?”
“Not sexual.”
I swallowed.
“What kind, then?”
“Bullying.”
I said nothing.
“She said I threatened her career.”
“Did you?”
“I told her she was making herself unemployable.”
“After she reported you?”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
“That sounds like a threat.”
“I was angry.”
“I don’t care.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
My voice shook now.
“You keep handing me reasons as if reasons are exits.”
He went quiet.
“I’m done tonight.”
“Claire.”
“No.”
“I need you to hear one thing.”
“What?”
“The company money was going into Sophie’s account because I was trying to replace what I took before Nathan discovered the reimbursement problem.”
I stared at the statement.
“So the transfer was restitution.”
“Yes.”
“With money that wasn’t yours.”
“Yes.”
May you like
“That is not restitution.”
“I know.”
