Chapter 5 - THE NURSERY PAID FOR WITH MY MONEY
Four point six million dollars.
I read the number three times.
My husband had spent years telling me that money didn't matter to him.
Yet behind my back, he had apparently tried to attach my name to millions in financial obligations.
Elise explained that the document alone did not establish that I owed the money.
But the damage to my reputation was already real.
And if Trent had circulated that guarantee among lenders, contractors, or investors, it could take months to untangle.
"Why would he risk something this serious?" Nina asked.
I thought about the expensive watch.
The Mercedes.
The house.
The way Trent had smiled while telling me to leave.
"Because he's never believed anyone would tell him no."
The following morning, Elise arranged for formal notices disputing the guarantee and demanding preservation of relevant records.
She also advised me to avoid entering the Paradise Valley house without arranging access through counsel.
I hated that.
The home had been mine before Trent became my husband.
I'd purchased it using proceeds from an earlier business sale, four months before our wedding.
My name was the only one on the recorded deed.
But the marriage, improvements, and other finances still needed careful legal review.
I wasn't going to let anger turn into a mistake.
That afternoon, I arranged to collect additional personal belongings with a neutral witness present.
Trent wasn't home.
Gloria was.
She stood in my foyer directing two workers who were carrying boxes upstairs.
"Harper," she said sharply. "What are you doing here?"
I looked around.
My favorite painting had been removed.
The ivory sofa was covered in plastic.
Several boxes of baby furniture stood beside the staircase.
"I'm collecting my things."
"Trent said you already moved out."
"I haven't given him the house."
Gloria folded her arms.
"Must everything become an argument?"
I stared at the woman who had accepted my money for five years.
"Where did the recovery-care payments go, Gloria?"
Her face tightened.
"To your father-in-law."
"Which providers?"
"Medical people."
"Names?"
She lifted her chin.
"I don't answer to you."
"You've received one million eight hundred twenty thousand dollars from me."
"That was family support."
I felt my hands begin to shake.
"No. The household allowance was family support. The other payments were specifically requested for Walt's medical treatment."
Gloria looked away.
For the first time, I noticed how tired she appeared.
Her hair was neatly styled, but dark circles shadowed her eyes.
"Do you know what it's like," she asked, "to spend your whole life being afraid of losing your home?"
The question surprised me.
"What does that have to do with this?"
"Everything. Walt worked until his body gave out. Trent never had the opportunities you had."
"Then he should have asked for help with an honest business plan."
"He wanted to build something lasting."
"With money you told me was saving his father's life?"
Her expression collapsed for a second.
Then she straightened.
"You're a wealthy woman, Harper. You can recover."
I looked at her in disbelief.
"Is that what you told yourselves?"
She said nothing.
Upstairs, the workers were assembling a white crib.
I entered the bedroom that had once served as my reading room.
The walls were being painted pale green.
Tiny animal decals sat on a table.
A rocking chair stood beside the window.
Someone had already removed the shelves containing books I'd collected since college.
The sight hurt in a way I hadn't expected.
I had once imagined preparing that room for a baby of my own.
After my pregnancy loss, Trent and I had quietly agreed not to turn it into a nursery.
Now his mistress's child was being welcomed into that same space.
I wasn't angry at the baby.
The baby had done nothing wrong.
But I was furious that Trent had chosen this room without a moment's thought for what it meant to me.
On the floor lay a furniture invoice.
I picked it up.
The purchaser was Copper Gate Rentals LLC.
Payment method: company account.
Gloria appeared in the doorway.
"Put that down."
I looked at the invoice.
"Why is Trent's rental company furnishing this nursery?"
"Because it's his money."
I turned toward her.
"Is it?"
She couldn't meet my eyes.
Before I could say anything else, Walt appeared in the hallway.
He was thinner than I remembered, but he walked without assistance.
He looked from Gloria to the invoice in my hand.
Then he spoke.
"Harper, I need to tell you something."
Gloria immediately stepped toward him.
"Walt, don't."
He ignored her.
His voice trembled.
"I tried to stop the payments last year."
My heart began pounding.
"What?"
He looked directly at me.
"I wrote you a letter. Gloria told me Trent had delivered it."
I shook my head.
"I never received a letter."
Walt closed his eyes.
May you like
Then he said something that made Gloria grip the doorway.
"Because the day after I wrote it, Trent took me to the bank and told me what would happen if I told you the truth."
