Chương 4
“Okay.”
Claire continued.
“Six months ago, Ethan gave me a settlement agreement. He said his lawyer would file everything. I signed a draft after revisions. I did not sign a final divorce petition in front of a notary. I did not go to court. He told me that because we agreed on everything, his lawyer could finish the rest.”
“Why would you believe that?”
The question was sharp.
Claire’s first instinct was to defend herself.
Her second was to lie.
She chose neither.
“Because I wanted to.”
Maddie said nothing.
“I had four kids asking every day when their dad was coming home. Ethan was paying the mortgage. He was paying support without a court order. We had finally stopped fighting. He said if I made the divorce adversarial, everything would become expensive and ugly.”
“Was he right?”
“Probably.”
“That doesn’t make the paperwork real.”
“I know that now.”
Claire looked toward the children.
Emma had fallen asleep sitting upright with half a sandwich in one hand. Sophie was peeling the paper label off a water bottle. Noah had found a hotel notepad and was drawing a car.
“For a while, he kept showing up on Saturdays. Then every other Saturday. Then he started canceling. He said he was traveling for work. Ninety-three days ago was the last time he saw them.”
Maddie looked at Noah.
“He was with me that weekend.”
Claire’s eyes moved back to her.
“Where?”
“Napa.”
Claire almost laughed again.
Not because it was funny.
Because Sophie had waited by the front window that Saturday wearing sneakers for four hours.
Ethan had texted at eleven in the morning that his flight from Denver had been delayed.
“Napa,” Claire said.
Maddie nodded.
“He told me he had a client dinner.”
“He sent Sophie a picture of an airport.”
Maddie shut her eyes.
Rachel whispered, “Jesus.”
Claire went on.
“Two weeks ago I applied for a home equity modification because I wanted the mortgage transferred to my name. The lender told me there was already a pending transaction.”
“The Portland project.”
“I didn’t know that name until tonight.”
“What did you know?”
“That someone submitted documents transferring my interest.”
Claire slid the second packet across the table.
“I requested copies. They emailed them Monday. I called Ethan. He didn’t answer. Tuesday I went to his office. Wednesday I contacted the notary listed here. The phone number is disconnected.”
“And today?”
“Today the title company called me back.”
Maddie leaned forward.
“They said Ethan represented that I had executed the transfer voluntarily. They froze the closing when I disputed the signature.”
“So the closing isn’t happening.”
“Not unless this gets resolved.”
“Then why come here?”
Claire looked at the wedding ring in Maddie’s closed hand.
“Because the woman at the title company mentioned they had a forwarding itinerary for Ethan after Monday. She wasn’t supposed to tell me. She sounded nervous and stopped talking when she realized she had.”
“Where was he going?”
“Portugal.”
Maddie’s face went blank.
“Our honeymoon.”
“For how long?”
“Three weeks.”
Claire let the silence sit.
Maddie asked, “How did you know about the wedding?”
“The internet.”
Rachel winced.
Maddie looked toward her.
“You knew?”
Rachel shook her head immediately.
“No. God, no.”
“Did anyone?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I don’t know, Maddie.”
Maddie pressed her knuckles against her mouth.
Claire recognized the gesture.
She had done the same thing in the grocery store parking lot after finding the wedding registry.
A Tiffany serving tray.
A set of luggage.
A toaster that cost more than Claire’s first car payment.
She had stared at those items and hated Maddie for choosing expensive towels while Claire was calculating whether she could afford Sophie’s orthodontic deposit.
It embarrassed her now.
Maddie lowered her hand.
“He told me you were unstable.”
Claire felt the words before understanding them.
“What?”
“He said you wouldn’t accept the divorce. He said you had threatened to use the children to ruin his relationships.”
Rachel sat down.
Maddie kept talking.
“He said he didn’t tell me their names because he was trying to protect their privacy.”
Claire looked at Noah.
He was erasing the car so hard the paper had begun to tear.
“What else?”
Maddie hesitated.
Claire waited.
“He said one of the children might not be his.”
Claire stood so quickly the chair scraped the floor.
Sophie looked up.
Claire lowered her voice.
“Which one?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Which one?”
“I said he didn’t tell me.”
“Did you believe him?”
Maddie’s face tightened.
“I believed the man I was going to marry.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“No. It’s what you meant.”
Claire stared at her.
For one ugly second she hated Maddie again.
Not because Maddie had done anything.
Because believing Ethan had required believing something about Claire, and Maddie had found that easier than asking questions.
Maddie saw it.
“I know,” she said.
Claire sat.
Neither apologized.
The door opened.
Margaret stood outside.
Rachel moved to close it.
Margaret stopped the door with her hand.
“Please.”
Maddie looked away.
Margaret’s voice shook.
“I need to explain.”
“No,” Maddie said. “You need to answer.”
Margaret entered.
She had removed her pearl earrings. Claire had never seen her without earrings at a formal event. The small detail made her look unexpectedly old.
Maddie placed the forged transfer document in front of her.
“Who is Daniel Mercer?”
Margaret sat opposite them.
“He handled some business matters for my husband years ago.”
“Is he a notary?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he witness Claire signing this?”
“No.”
Maddie stared at her.
“How do you know?”
Margaret’s eyes filled but did not spill.
“Because Claire didn’t sign it.”
The room became very quiet.
Claire felt her hands go numb.
“You knew.”
Margaret looked at her.
“I knew there was paperwork.”
“What paperwork?”
“Ethan said you had agreed to sell your interest.”
“I did not.”
“I know that now.”
May you like
“No. You just said you knew I didn’t sign it.”
Margaret looked toward the children.
