“Perfect. Hang on just a minute.” I hustled into the living room for my wallet and delivered the information she needed.
Soft taps from a keyboard crossed the line to my ears before a long, silent pause.
Robert would surely throw a fit about the amount of money spent on repairs for Mom’s house, but what else could I do?My house,I thought, correcting the mistake I made too often. This was my place now. Mom left it to me. She trusted me with its care. And I was doinga bang-up job so far.In fact,I thought,if she could see me, I think she’d be proud.
“Nope.” The woman on the phone made a low humming sound. “According to your bank, this account has insufficient funds.”
“What?” I barked. “That’s impossible. Let me give you the details again.”
She repeated the numbers back to me and tried again.
“Sorry,” she said. “Same results. We accept cash, if you want to stop into our local office. Then we can get you on the schedule again. Or just give us a call when you get the banking sorted, and we’ll be happy to help. Thank you for choosing Premier Plumbers.”
The line went dead, and I stared at my reflection in the kitchen window.
How was this happening?
It only took a nanosecond for the answer to emerge.
Robert.
I navigated to my banking app, and a negative balance appeared. My stomach roiled as I checked the amount remaining in savings. Someone had disabled the overdraft feature meant to stop checks from bouncing. “Son of a—” I turned the feature on, and funds began to transfer. I tried not to vomit as I took note of all the failed utility payments I’d made with blind faith and an empty account.
Suddenly the broken sink felt like a blessing. Otherwise, when would I have realized the money in these accounts was dwindling?
I should have known Robert was up to something. He’d been too quiet.
A shiver rocked down my spine as I let my mind wander to what else he might be up to.
The too-familiar feelings of fear and anxiety rushed in to replace every measure of peace and happiness I’d had moments before. The urge to put my head down and get my walls up snapped back into place like magnets.
My breaths slowed as the ugly thoughts rolled in.
Was breaking the cycle of unhealthy marriages really worth all this chaos?I wondered darkly. Odds were statistically in my favor to outlive him. If I’d waited it out instead of leaving, I might’ve enjoyed my twilight years alone and in comfort. Now I’d left him unattended and angry. That was a terrible combination.
“Fucking Robert,” I seethed.
I opened the texting app to send him a piece of my mind, but the phone buzzed in my hand. My attorney’s office was calling.
“Hello?”
“Sophie? This is Jill Gallagher returning your call.”
“Oh, thank god,” I said. “I think Robert removed me from his credit card, and he made some large withdrawals from the checking account I’m using to pay bills.”
“Yes,” she said, stalling my mini rant. “I’m aware, and I planned to schedule a meeting with you as soon as possible. Do you have some time to talk right now?”
“You knew?”
“I’m afraid so. I got wind of what was happening after the paperwork was filed. I reached out to opposing counsel for additional details, but he was slow to respond. I’ve been trying to get to the bottom of this all day. I hoped to have information for you before I called.”
I waited, flabbergasted and confused. “What paperwork was filed?”
Jill paused. “Your husband filed for bankruptcy this morning.”
If I hadn’t been seated already, I might’ve knocked myself out hitting the floor. “That can’t be right. He’s a partner at a major law firm. We have money at three different banks, investments, retirement, savings—”
“Robert’s attorney claims the losses were recent and significant due to a series of bad investments. He further claims that your husband canceled all credit cards in due diligence.”
