Priscilla’s gaze flashed. “My event company.”
“You haven’t had clients in months.”
“I was building it.”
“With my mother’s money?”
“I was going to repay her.”
“How?”
“I said I would.”
The doorbell rang again, longer this time. The delivery driver was waiting.
Dean did not answer it.
Sylvia gathered the papers into a neat stack. “You can tell us the truth now, or you can tell it later to the bank and the police. But I am not paying for one more thing.”
Priscilla’s shoulders rose with a shallow breath. “You can’t do this to me at Christmas.”
“I didn’t do this to you.”
For the first time, Dean looked directly at his wife without trying to soften what he saw. “Did you use the card for anything else?”
Priscilla didn’t answer.
CHAPTER 3 – What the Account Held
Dean called the number on the back of the card.
He put the phone on speaker and gave the representative Sylvia’s name, then the last four digits. Sylvia answered the security questions herself. Her voice shook once, when asked to confirm her address, and steadied again.
The representative reviewed the recent activity. A few transactions had been made in person. Many had been online. Several were recurring payments. One account had Sylvia’s card saved as the primary payment method.
The total balance was higher than the amount on her printed statements.
Sylvia closed her eyes.
Dean put his hand on the table, close to hers but not touching. “How much?”
The representative read the total. Sylvia asked her to repeat it. She wrote it down on the corner of an envelope.
Priscilla stared at the table. The perfect red dress, the careful makeup, the polished shoes suddenly seemed less like elegance than armor.
Sylvia authorized the representative to freeze the card and open a fraud review. She explained that Dean had been allowed to use it for emergencies, but that she had not approved the other charges. The representative told her what records to preserve and how the bank would investigate.
When the call ended, the kitchen felt smaller.
The delivery driver knocked a third time.
Dean went to the front door and told him the rental order was canceled. The driver checked his paperwork, then pointed out the cancellation fee. Dean looked at Sylvia before answering.
“I’ll take care of it,” he said.
Sylvia nodded. She would decide later whether to let him. Right now, she wanted the order canceled.
The driver carried the boxes back to the van. The rented tables never crossed the threshold.
