Chapter 12 - THE JOB HE LOST
Daniel was placed on administrative leave that afternoon.
His employer had learned that client meetings were sometimes billed through the consulting company he used to hide income.
The divorce subpoena had uncovered more than marital deception.
Several payments appeared connected to work he had performed using company resources.
Daniel blamed me.
Of course he did.
“You ruined my career.”
That was the first voicemail he left after the suspension.
“You could have handled this privately.”
Private.
Daniel loved that word now.
The affair should have remained private.
The money should have remained private.
The attempted account access should have remained private.
Apparently privacy meant consequences could not reach him.
Three days later, Patricia called me.
I almost ignored it.
Then I answered.
“Jennifer.”
Her voice sounded smaller than I had ever heard it.
“Can I see Lily?”
“You can.”
She began crying.
“I didn’t know.”
“I believe you.”
That was true.
Patricia had faults.
She defended Daniel too quickly.
She had spent years treating his success as evidence of character.
But I did not believe she had known.
She came to my mother’s house Sunday afternoon.
For the first twenty minutes, she held Lily without discussing Daniel.
Then she said, “He asked us for money.”
I looked at her.
“How much?”
“Fifty thousand.”
“For what?”
“He says he needs legal fees and a new apartment.”
I waited.
“We said no.”
That surprised me.
Patricia looked down at Lily.
“Robert found out Daniel had also borrowed against money we gave him for retirement.”
“How much?”
“Thirty thousand.”
I closed my eyes.
The scale kept widening.
She continued.
“He told us it was for a business opportunity.”
“Was it?”
“No.”
She handed me a document.
It was another bank transfer.
Recipient: Matthews Properties LLC.
Chloe’s surname.
But Chloe had never mentioned owning a company.
I photographed the document and sent it to Rachel.
Within hours, we learned Matthews Properties did not belong to Chloe.
It belonged to her older brother, Aaron.
He owned small rental buildings across the county.
I called Chloe.
“Did Daniel pay your brother thirty thousand dollars?”
Silence.
Then, “What?”
“You didn’t know?”
“No.”
She sounded genuinely shocked.
“Why would he?”
We found out the next day.
Daniel had put a deposit on a condominium.
Not for Chloe.
For himself.
The purchase agreement was dated five months before Lily’s birth.
He had planned to move there after convincing me to restructure the assets.
The supposed marriage he claimed he wanted to save had already been scheduled for abandonment.
But one line in the purchase agreement confused Rachel.
Buyer: Daniel Reynolds and Chloe Matthews.
I called Chloe again.
This time, she went silent for much longer.
Finally she said, “Jennifer, I need to tell you something I should have told you at the baptism.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“The condo wasn’t supposed to be for Daniel and me.”
May you like
“Then who was it for?”
“For you.”
