Lily’s first cry in the delivery room.
Nights waiting for him to come home.
The sound of keys turning in a lock.
“Why is Caroline Prescott in your email?”
Silence.
Then Ethan exhaled.
“You found it.”
“You told me to.”
“I wasn’t sure you still had those messages.”
“What is Northbridge?”
“Elena—”
“No. Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Say my name like you’re preparing me for something.”
A pause.
“I’m not.”
“You always do.”
He didn’t answer.
I stood and walked toward the window.
Below me, cars moved along the freeway like red and white beads of light.
“What is Northbridge?” I repeated.
“A medical distribution company.”
“Sam’s company?”
“Partly.”
“Partly?”
“He was CFO. I don’t know how much ownership he had.”
“You knew?”
“Not at first.”
“And what did Caroline Prescott have to do with it?”
Another long silence.
“Ethan.”
“She was a patient in a Prescott Health hospital.”
“I know that.”
“You know?”
“Adrian told me his sister died of leukemia.”
I heard movement on Ethan’s end.
“Elena, listen carefully. Do not tell Prescott about those emails yet.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know who around him is involved.”
My skin prickled.
“Involved in what?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No. I expect you to believe documents.”
I laughed once, without humor.
“You’ve spent months hiding things from me, Ethan.”
“I know.”
“You changed the locks.”
“I know.”
“You emptied our account.”
“I didn’t empty it.”
“You moved the money somewhere I couldn’t access.”
“Yes.”
“Which is another way of saying you took it.”
His voice hardened slightly.
“No. It isn’t.”
“There you are.”
“What?”
“That tone. The one where you explain reality to me.”
“Elena, I’m not trying to—”
“Yes, you are.”
I closed my eyes.
“I cannot do this with you anymore.”
“I know.”
His voice was quieter now.
“And I know saying that doesn’t fix anything.”
That stopped me.
This didn’t sound like Ethan.
Or perhaps it did.
Perhaps I simply hadn’t heard this version of him in a very long time.
“Why are you looking for me?”
“Because someone photographed you with Adrian Prescott.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“I saw the picture. Then Sam called me.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
“Sam called you?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
