Jessica took a step backward.
“That proves nothing.”
“They have the login history,” Martin said. “And the security footage from the branch.”
Her face went still.
“What footage?”
“The footage showing you accompanying David when the authorization was signed.”
David turned sharply.
“You told me we were meeting a financial adviser.”
“I was trying to help you.”
“You told me Mom had already approved it.”
“I said she would approve it once the evaluation was done.”
Eleanor looked at David.
“Did you hear that?”
He nodded.
“And did you record anything?”
Martin placed a memory card on the console.
“David contacted me yesterday. He came to my office and provided a recording of a conversation with Jessica.”
Jessica’s eyes widened.
“You recorded me?”
“I was afraid,” David said.
“You were afraid of me?”
“I was afraid of what we were becoming.”
The recording began with the faint sound of a door closing.
Jessica’s voice filled the foyer.
Once the doctor signs off, she will not be able to stop us. David, you only need to look sad and confused. Everyone already thinks she is slipping.
A pause followed.
Then David’s voice.
What if she finds out?
Jessica answered without hesitation.
She will not. And even if she does, no one will believe a woman who keeps accusing her family.
The recording ended.
No one spoke.
The silence was not dramatic. It was ordinary and unbearable.
Jessica looked at Eleanor.
For the first time that evening, there was no performance left in her face.
“You don’t understand what it is like to be married to someone who refuses to grow up.”
Eleanor said nothing.
“You gave him everything,” Jessica continued. “A house. A business loan. Help with every emergency. But he still feels like a child. I was the one carrying the fear. I was the one looking at our bills.”
“You chose theft,” Eleanor said.
“I chose survival.”
