I hoped she was right, but few things were fair when Robert was involved. The way our divorce was going, I worried he might force me to sell the house to pay off our alleged joint debts.
“I need to prove he’s lying about the money,” I said. That was the real problem. “How can I do that?”
“Any word from the forensic accountant?” she asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “They won’t be in touch for ninety days, unless they find something. Otherwise, I’ll get a quarterly report updating me on what they’ve done so far.”
“Well then, it’s only a matter of time. Robert’s smart, but he’s arrogant, and that leads to mistakes. He knows you’re smart, too, and savvy, which is why he’s got you running in circles. He knows that if he doesn’t keep you panicked and distracted, you’ll figure out what he’s doing with the money.”
I barked a humorless laugh. “The view from where you’re standing must be a lot different than mine, because it feels like he just wants revenge. I think he’s trying to prove he still can control me, even though I’m no longer living under his thumb.”
I felt her gaze on my cheek but kept my eyes on the road.
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” she said softly. “I hate what he’s done to you, but I am so fiercely proud of what you’re doing every day for yourself.”
I glanced in her direction.
We rode in silence for several blocks.
I wanted to tell her about my plans to confess to Lucas. He deserved to know I was the Invisible Baker. But letting go of old trauma was hard, and when I opened my mouth, I couldn’t find the words.
“Something’s broken in Robert,” Alicia said. “He can’t make real connections with anyone. He seems to think people are either out to get something from him, or they exist so he can get something from them.”
My heart ached at her words. She saw Robert clearly, something I should’ve let myself do much sooner. I knew now that no amount of my unconditional love or servitude would’ve earned me his love,affection, or even incrementally better treatment. He saw me as a tool to use for his benefit. Camilla was that and more. She kept me tied to him while also promoting the image of family man to burnish his professional image. A double win. But we were both just cogs in the Serve Robert machine.
I pulled into Alicia’s driveway. “There has to be a way to take him down.”
She nodded and opened the passenger door. “If you think of it, let me know. Oh, hey, I almost forgot!” She turned wide eyes to me. “How’d you get the pastries to the restaurant this morning?”
We’d brainstormed possible solutions last night but repeatedly found a flaw in our ideas. I was at a loss until I came up with a plan over coffee with my neighbor.
My lips quirked into a grin. “Ilona.”
Alicia cackled. “Bless that woman. I need details.”
“She took the pastries in an Uber to that coffee shop overlooking the river. Then she took a Lyft to the park at the end of the block across from the restaurant and walked the rest of the way to cover her tracks. After she made the delivery, she stayed downtown until eleven, shopping, then met a friend for lunch who gave her a ride home.”
“That’s so genius,” Alicia said.
“She said she felt like a secret agent, but I hate that it took up her entire morning. She can’t do that every day.”
Alicia considered that for a bit. “So what’s the plan? Will you have to stop taking orders for a while?”
“Maybe,” I said. “Or I could come clean.” I held my breath the moment the words were out. What would Alicia think after helping me keep the secret for so long? Would it feel like betrayal? Would she think I was overreacting or getting ahead of myself?
“Let me know,” she said. “Whatever you decide will be the right thing to do, and I’ve got your back regardless.”
She stepped onto the driveway and turned to wave goodbye.
My heart had officially reached capacity. If my feelings on every topic got any bigger, I was sure it would bust. “Tell Bill I owe him big time for the truck,” I called. “I’ll figure out a new ride as soon as I can.”
A burning hatred for Robert’s financial lies led me to drive past my old house on the way home. Everything looked the same from the outside, but nothing was the same beyond the front door.
I parked the pickup on the corner and stared at the property. Hard to believe I’d lived there longer than I’d lived anywhere else. I’d left Mom’s house at eighteen but spent twenty years in the giant mausoleum across the street from me now, the place where my soul had slowly died.
A truck with a local landscaping company logo drove past, and the driver lifted a hand in my direction.
It took a moment for me to realize he probably thought I was another contractor. Bill’s truck didn’t look like anything a resident would drive.
