Chapter 5 - Six WeeksClaire refused to open the envelope.
She carried it into the bedroom and locked the door.
Emily’s father slept in the guest room.
The next morning, Halloween decorations still covered the house, but nothing felt festive anymore.
Emily came downstairs wearing her school uniform.
Her father was at the kitchen table with two cups of coffee and three pages of handwritten notes.
“Are you going to school?”
Emily almost laughed.
“I think so.”
“I called them.”
Her expression changed.
“At six-thirty?”
“I left a message.”
He rubbed his forehead.
“I’ll pay the overdue tuition today from my savings.”
Emily stared at him.
“You don’t have to fix it before you figure everything out.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Why?”
“Because your school should never have become collateral damage in my marriage.”
Emily said nothing.
He looked at her carefully.
“The account will be rebuilt.”
“You don’t know if you can get the money back.”
“Then I’ll replace it.”
“With your money?”
“With money I should have protected better.”
Emily picked at the cuff of her sleeve.
“I don’t want you to lose everything because of me.”
His face tightened.
“This isn’t because of you.”
Before Emily could answer, Claire entered.
She was no longer wearing red.
She wore gray trousers and a cream sweater.
She looked professional.
Controlled.
Almost ordinary.
Her husband noticed the folder in her hand.
“Where are you going?”
“Attorney.”
“So that envelope was what I thought.”
Claire set the folder on the island.
“You froze my card.”
“I froze one joint credit card.”
“You changed the banking passwords.”
“Yes.”
“You removed my access to checking.”
“I removed online transfer authority after finding fifty-two thousand dollars gone.”
Claire looked at Emily.
“This is what happens when children are invited into adult marriages.”
Emily’s father stood.
“Do not blame her.”
Claire smiled coldly.
“You’ve already decided I’m the villain.”
“You had an affair.”
“Our marriage was dead.”
“It wasn’t dead to me.”
Claire looked away.
For a moment, guilt entered the room.
Then she said, “There’s a prenuptial agreement.”
Emily’s father’s face changed.
Emily had never heard the phrase before.
“What about it?”
Claire opened the folder.
“When we married, your attorney insisted on it.”
“You had your own attorney.”
“And I was told the house was yours, the company was yours, most premarital investments were yours.”
“You knew that.”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
Claire met his eyes.
“In six weeks, we reach five years of marriage.”
He said nothing.
Emily watched them.
Claire continued.
“The agreement changes after five years.”
Her father’s jaw tightened.
Emily finally understood.
“What changes?”
Neither adult answered immediately.
Then her father said quietly, “Certain marital-property provisions become more favorable to Claire.”
Claire folded her arms.
“Because I gave up my own career to manage this home.”
“You stopped working before we met.”
“That’s not the point.”
“The point is you were planning a divorce.”
Claire did not deny it.
“In six weeks,” he said.
Claire remained silent.
He laughed once.
“You were waiting for the anniversary.”
“I was waiting until I was financially safe.”
“With Adrian?”
Claire looked away.
“With Briar Lane?”
Silence.
“With Emily’s fifty-two thousand dollars?”
“I told you I was replacing it.”
“How?”
Claire’s composure cracked.
“I don’t know!”
Emily stepped backward.
Claire pressed her fingers to her forehead.
“I didn’t plan for you to find out like this.”
Her husband stared.
“You planned for me not to find out at all.”
“That’s not true.”
“Then tell me what was supposed to happen.”
Claire looked at Emily.
Her father said, “She stays.”
Claire’s eyes hardened.
“Fine.”
She took a breath.
“I was going to close on Briar Lane next month. Adrian and I were going to renovate it.”
“And live there.”
“Eventually.”
“Then wait until the five-year date.”
Claire said nothing.
“File for divorce.”
Nothing.
“Claim whatever the prenup gave you.”
Claire lowered her eyes.
“And leave Emily’s education account empty long enough that she might lose her place at school.”
“I said I was going to replace it.”
“When?”
“When I could.”
Emily’s father walked toward the window.
He stared at the jack-o’-lanterns still sitting outside.
The previous night, they had looked warm.
Now they looked ridiculous.
Claire picked up her bag.
“I’ll be back later.”
“No.”
She turned.
“No what?”
“You should stay somewhere else.”
Claire laughed.
“You can’t throw me out of my home.”
“I’m asking.”
“And I’m saying no.”
Emily watched them.
Her father nodded once.
“Then I’ll speak to counsel.”
Claire’s expression sharpened.
“So now we’re lawyers.”
“You started that before last night.”
Claire gripped her bag.
Then she walked out.
The front door slammed.
Emily’s father stood motionless.
After several seconds, Emily asked, “Did she marry you for the money?”
He turned.
“I don’t know.”
That frightened Emily more than yes would have.
His phone rang.
This time it was the school.
He answered.
“Yes, this is Emily’s father.”
He listened.
His face slowly tightened.
“I understand the tuition is overdue.”
Another pause.
“No, I never requested that.”
Emily looked at him.
“What?”
He raised one finger.
“Can you email me a copy?”
The school administrator continued.
“When did you receive it?”
He looked directly at Emily.
“Three weeks ago?”
Claire had done something else.
“What is it?” Emily whispered.
Her father ended the call.
He looked stunned.
“The school received a request to withdraw you at the end of the semester.”
Emily stared.
“I never asked to leave.”
“I know.”
“Who sent it?”
He looked toward the front door Claire had just slammed.
“It has my electronic signature.”
Emily’s fear returned.
Because spending money was one thing.
May you like
But Claire had not merely risked Emily’s education.
She had already begun erasing it.
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