Margaret picked up the top page from the stack and held it up. “March fifteenth. A payment to Élite Design Consulting for forty-two thousand dollars. Except Élite Design Consulting doesn’t exist. The account belongs to your sister.”
Lisa’s face crumpled.
“April ninth. Eighteen thousand for legal consulting. Except the law firm has no record of any retainer. The money went to a private account in your name.”
“Stop,” Lisa whispered.
Margaret didn’t stop. “June twenty-third. Seventy-five thousand dollars listed as a down payment on new office space. Except Timothy’s business never moved. The payment went to an investment account you opened six months ago.”
Lisa sank into the chair she had refused to let Margaret sit in. Her hands covered her face.
Nicole Harper stood and backed away from the table. Jessica Monroe looked like she wanted to disappear into the floor. Amanda Price reached across the table and gripped her husband’s hand.
Timothy finally opened his eyes. He looked at his wife like he was seeing her for the first time.
“Why?” he asked.
Lisa didn’t answer.
“Why, Lisa?”
She pulled her hands away from her face. Her makeup was smudged. Her eyes were red. “Because it was never enough,” she said hoarsely. “Nothing you gave me was ever enough.”
The words landed like stones.
Timothy’s face twisted. “I gave you everything.”
“You gave me a life I had to perform. A house I had to decorate. Friends I had to impress. And a mother-in-law who reminded me every single day that I would never be good enough.”
Margaret’s expression didn’t change. “So you stole.”
“I took what I deserved.”
“You took what wasn’t yours.”
Lisa laughed bitterly. “And now what? You’re going to call the police? Destroy your own son’s marriage in front of all these people?”
Margaret folded her arms. “I already called the police.”
The room went completely silent.
Lisa’s face drained of color. “You what?”
“I filed a report this morning. Fraud. Embezzlement. Theft. The district attorney has everything.”
Timothy staggered backward. “Ma, no. No, you didn’t.”
“I did.”
“You’re going to send her to prison?”
“I’m going to let the law decide what happens to someone who committed a crime.”
Lisa stood abruptly, her chair scraping back. “You vindictive, bitter old woman. You couldn’t stand that he loved me. You couldn’t stand that he chose me over you.”
Margaret’s voice stayed calm. “He didn’t choose you over me. He chose silence over integrity. And that breaks my heart more than anything you ever did.”
Timothy looked from his mother to his wife and back again. His hands opened and closed at his sides. “This is insane. This is—”
