Chapter 6 - THE APARTMENT
Caleb slept for eleven hours the first night downtown.
No shouting.
No guests.
No Brooke.
No Victoria.
No Tyler appearing behind him with balloons.
When he woke, he stood in the kitchen wearing pajama pants and Jonah’s baseball cap.
“Are we going home?”
He asked.
I crouched.
“This is home for now.”
He looked around.
“It’s small.”
I laughed softly.
“It is.”
Our estate had thirteen bedrooms.
The apartment had three.
Caleb smiled faintly.
“I like small.”
That hurt more than I expected.
Safety had become small.
Predictable.
Quiet.
We made pancakes.
He ate two.
That was more than he had eaten at breakfast in weeks.
At noon, Richard called.
I handed Caleb the choice.
“You don’t have to answer.”
He stared at the phone.
Then pressed decline.
I did not celebrate.
I did not criticize.
“Okay.”
That afternoon, his therapist, Dr. Aaron Wells, came to the apartment.
Caleb had his first session in six weeks without Richard canceling it for some family event.
Afterward, Aaron spoke to me privately.
“His anxiety has been escalating.”
“I know.”
“He believes he causes conflict.”
My throat tightened.
“Because Victoria says everyone has to adjust around him.”
Aaron nodded.
“And because his father frequently leaves the room during episodes.”
I looked down.
“Richard says he’s trying not to reinforce them.”
“Caleb experiences it as abandonment.”
That sentence stayed with me.
The next morning, Evelyn called.
“We found more payments.”
“How much?”
“Brooke is the small problem.”
My stomach tightened.
“What is the large one?”
“Victoria.”
Over five years, Arden Residential Holdings had transferred $4.2 million to three entities controlled by her.
Board advisory fees.
Acquisition research.
Heritage consulting.
One company had no employees.
Another shared its address with Victoria’s personal accountant.
The third had paid for her Palm Beach condo.
I stared out the apartment window.
“Did Richard approve these?”
“Most.”
“Did he know where they went?”
“We don’t know.”
“Ask him.”
Evelyn was quiet.
“Emma.”
“What?”
“You may need to consider that Richard wasn’t simply weak with his mother.”
May you like
My hand tightened around the phone.
“He may have been financially participating.”
