Outside, a delivery truck stopped at the next house. A door slammed. Somewhere down the street, a dog barked.
Inside, Clara pressed her phone against her chest.
“I thought it was just paperwork.”
“What paperwork?” Ruth asked.
“The gift letter.”
Nora felt her stomach contract.
Clara’s eyes filled, but she kept looking at Julian.
“He sent me a photograph of an old birthday card. Your signature was at the bottom.”
Ruth’s hands went still.
“He said you couldn’t work the scanner.”
Julian’s mouth tightened.
Clara looked at Ruth at last.
“I put the signature into the document.”
Nora pushed her cup away before she could knock it over.
Clara had signed nothing herself, yet she had helped manufacture Ruth’s consent. Now the woman who had demanded proof of Nora’s generosity could barely hold her own phone.
“When did you find out I hadn’t agreed?” Ruth asked.
Clara wiped beneath one eye.
“When you asked about the apartment.”
“That was three weeks ago.”
“I thought we could fix it.”
“By taking Nora’s money.”
Clara lowered her gaze.
The hidden shape of the afternoon finally stood before them. Nora’s transfer would not have saved Julian’s down payment. Ruth’s money had already supplied it.
Nora’s savings were meant to replace what they had taken before anyone outside the family discovered the theft.
Julian reached for the grocery bag.
Nora put her hand on it.
“Don’t.”
“You don’t understand what this could do to me.”
“I understand what you did to her.”
He turned back to Ruth.
