Chapter 7 - The Plan
I enlarged the photograph.
Most of the writing was too blurry to read.
But several phrases were visible.
Joint checking.
House contribution.
Company shares.
No separate lawyer.
And at the bottom, underlined twice.
45K immediately.
My stomach twisted.
Rebecca held out her hand.
“Send that to me.”
I forwarded it.
Then I typed a response to Caleb.
Can you call?
His answer came instantly.
Not safely.
Then another.
Mom is watching everyone.
Rebecca leaned closer.
“Ask him if he can photograph the entire page.”
I did.
No response.
Thirty seconds passed.
Then a minute.
Then three.
Finally, the typing bubble appeared.
Julian took it.
My chest tightened.
Where?
Don’t know. He knows I texted someone.
I stared at the screen.
Rebecca frowned.
“Tell him not to put himself at risk.”
I typed exactly that.
Caleb replied.
Too late. He asked if I was helping you.
I started typing again.
Then my phone rang.
Julian.
This time Rebecca said, “Answer.”
I looked at her.
“Really?”
“Speaker.”
I accepted the call.
“Hello?”
For several seconds, there was only breathing.
Then Julian spoke.
“You’ve had enough time to calm down.”
I looked at Rebecca.
She pressed a finger to her lips.
“I’m calm.”
“Good.”
“Where are you?”
“Safe.”
“Don’t do this, Elena.”
“Do what?”
“Turn one argument into a public disaster.”
I almost smiled.
“You mean the argument where you threw garbage in my face?”
“It was a dish towel.”
“And tried to access my bank account?”
Silence.
There.
Just enough.
Then he laughed.
“You’re paranoid.”
“The bank has the IP address.”
Another silence.
Shorter this time.
“Fine.”
His tone changed.
“I wanted to check whether the wedding check had cleared.”
“Why?”
“Because we have expenses.”
“We?”
“We’re married.”
I looked at Rebecca.
Her expression remained neutral.
“You told me yesterday that the wedding was fully paid.”
“It was.”
“So what expenses?”
“The honeymoon.”
“My parents paid for the flights.”
“Household things.”
“Which household things?”
“Elena, stop interrogating me.”
“Then stop lying.”
His breathing grew heavier.
“You know what?”
His voice hardened.
“Maybe my mother was right about you.”
“Probably not.”
“She said once that ring was on your finger, your true colors would come out.”
I almost admired the projection.
“What colors are those?”
“Selfish.”
“Independent?”
“Greedy.”
“Protective of my own bank account?”
“You have almost two million dollars in stock that you didn’t earn.”
Rebecca’s eyes sharpened.
I felt something inside me go still.
I had never told Julian the approximate current value of those shares.
Never.
He knew I owned part of the company.
He did not know how much.
“Who told you what my shares are worth?”
Silence.
Then Julian said the six words that destroyed any remaining doubt.
“You’re my wife.”
“I’m entitled to know.”
I swallowed.
“That wasn’t my question.”
His voice dropped.
“Come home, Elena.”
“No.”
“If you don’t, things will become very unpleasant.”
Rebecca began writing.
I watched her pen move.
Ask what he means.
“What does that mean, Julian?”
He laughed softly.
“You’ll find out.”
Then he hung up.
Rebecca looked at the phone.
“Good.”
I stared at her.
“Good?”
“He threatened you while we were recording.”
I blinked.
“You recorded that?”
She held up her second phone.
“Every second.”
For the first time since leaving the house, I smiled for a reason that had nothing to do with pretending.
Then my phone buzzed again.
But this time it wasn’t Julian.
May you like
It was my father.
Elena, call me immediately. A man claiming to be your husband just contacted our company’s CFO about transferring your shares.
