It landed in the little puddle of tea she had spilled earlier, when Clara first mentioned the money. Nobody had noticed her shaking then.
Now everyone looked.
On Nora’s screen, the transfer receipt showed her sister’s full name.
Julian silenced his phone.
“Mother,” he said.
Ruth tucked both hands beneath the table.
For six weeks, she had told Nora that the proceeds from selling her bungalow were safely invested. She had said she was staying with Julian because she enjoyed the company. She had said the little apartment she wanted was no longer available.
All three statements were lies.
“Tell her,” Nora said.
Ruth looked toward the hallway, where her coat hung beneath Julian’s. Its hem was caught under his sleeve.
“I didn’t invest it.”
Clara’s lips parted, then closed.
“Ruth,” she warned.
Nora moved her chair closer to her sister’s.
“The two hundred thousand from my house,” Ruth said. “Julian took it.”
His phone began ringing again.
This time, he answered.
“Yes?”
He listened without blinking. His free hand curled around the edge of his chair.
“No. There’s been a misunderstanding.”
Nora watched the pulse beating in his neck.
“No, she authorized—”
He stopped.
Across the table, Ruth finally brought her hands into view. She laid them flat on the wood, palms down, as though steadying herself on the deck of a ship.
“No,” she said. “I didn’t.”
CHAPTER 2 – What Ruth Had Signed
Julian stood and walked toward the hallway.
“Stay here,” Clara whispered.
He pulled his arm out of her reach.
Through the open doorway came fragments of his conversation: closing, disputed funds, written authorization. Then a longer silence.
