“You didn’t?”
“No, Alex. But I almost did. Until I picked up his phone by mistake. Heard your sweet little voice.”
She looked at me as though she had just seen her own reflection crack.
“I sold my shares in my father’s company for him. He said we’d get a new place together, far from here. He swore he was done with you.”
“Then why did he hide you? Why lie to me that this was all for us?”
Alex glanced up, mascara smeared beneath her eyes.
“So what do we do now?”
“If we let him believe he still has both of us, he’ll walk straight into his own trap.”
She wiped away a tear.
“And then?”
“Then we take back what’s ours.”
At last, she smiled.
“Tell me everything.”
I told Jake I had transferred every dollar into his account and smiled exactly the way he expected his loyal wife to smile.
“It’ll go through in three days.”
Alex played along too.
She told him she’d soon have the rest of the money ready, just like he wanted. Together they arranged a dinner date.
We already had our own plan.I would be there too.
Hidden in plain sight.
I arrived before either of them and chose a table directly behind theirs.
I wore an old coat borrowed from Alex and a cheap blonde wig I’d bought that afternoon. It scratched under my scarf, but that didn’t matter.
All I had to do was listen.
Three days, Jake.
You honestly believed you could squeeze both of us for money before disappearing?
Ten minutes later, the performance began.
“Hey, beautiful,” Jake said, leaning across the table to kiss Alex’s cheek. “Sorry, I’m late. You look… incredible.”
Of course she does, I thought.
She’s your newest investor.
Alex’s smile never came.
“I wanted to talk about the money again.”
Jake frowned.
“Again? Alex, we’ve been over this.”
“Yeah, but I want to be sure. Why do you need so much, Jake? Where does it go?”
His patience already sounded forced.
“It’s all for us, baby. You know that. I have to keep Martha off my back. The lawyers cost a fortune. She wants to bleed me dry in the divorce.”
I nearly laughed aloud.
