Chapter 4: What Mark Knew
Mark drove while I sat beside Emily in the back seat.
She leaned against me with her eyes half closed.
“Stay with me, sweetheart,” I whispered.
“I’m tired, Mommy.”
“I know.
We’re almost there.”
Mark looked at us in the mirror.
“I’m sorry, Laura.”
“For driving us?”
“For believing Glen.”
At urgent care, a nurse took Emily’s temperature and led us into an examination room.
Mark remained in the waiting area until the doctor stepped inside.
“Her fever has risen again,” Dr.
Patel said.
“Has she been resting?”
I looked at the floor.
Emily answered for me.
“Daddy had a party.”
Dr.
Patel set down her clipboard.
“She needs fluids, medicine, and uninterrupted rest.
If her temperature rises again overnight, take her straight to the hospital.”
“I will.”
“Is there another adult at home who can help you?”
The question struck harder than it should have.
My mouth opened, but nothing came out.
Mark appeared in the doorway.
“She won’t be doing this alone.”
I covered my face with one hand.
Emily reached toward me.
“Mommy, don’t cry.”
“I’m all right, baby.”
“No, you’re not,” Mark said softly.
“And you shouldn’t have to pretend.”
He crouched beside Emily and placed a small stuffed bear on her blanket.
“The gift shop only had bears wearing ridiculous hats,” he said.
“I picked the most ridiculous one.”
Emily touched its bright green cap.
“He looks silly.”
“That’s his special talent.”
Her tiny smile broke something inside me.
I began to cry, and Mark silently handed me a tissue.
When Emily was resting, Mark stepped into the hall with me.
“There’s something I should have told you months ago,” he said.
“What?”
“I saw Glen with Vanessa at a restaurant.
He said she was a real estate client.”
“Glen doesn’t work in real estate.”
“I know that now.”
I pressed my palm against the wall.
Mark lowered his voice.
“Tonight wasn’t just a football party.
Glen asked us to come because he wanted witnesses.”
“Witnesses to what?”
“He told two of the guys you’d become unpredictable.
He said you might create a scene.”
The hallway tilted around me.
“He planned this?”
“I think he wanted us to say you frightened him with that spider.
He kept pointing at everyone’s phones and saying, ‘I hope somebody recorded that.’”
My phone vibrated.
The bank’s name appeared on the screen.
“Mrs.
Mercer?” a woman asked when I answered.
“This is Helen from Community First Bank.
We’re confirming a transfer from your joint savings account.”
“I did not authorize it.”
“We received approval through the online account.”
“Reverse it.”
“The funds have already reached another institution.
You’ll need to file a fraud dispute.”
“Who received the money?”
“I can’t disclose the destination over the phone, but you may visit the branch with identification in the morning.”
A second alert appeared before the call ended.
PASSWORD CHANGED.
Then another email arrived from a company I had never contacted.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HOME EQUITY LOAN APPLICATION.
I opened the attached document.
My name appeared beneath a digital signature.
“That isn’t my signature,” I said.
Mark read over my shoulder.
“Did Glen have access to your laptop?”
“He knows my password.”
At the bottom of the application was the name of the person who had submitted it.
Vanessa Cole, Independent Property Consultant.
My phone rang again.
This time it was Glen.
May you like
“Come home alone,” he said.
“We need to discuss the papers you already signed.”
