Lorraine understood too late that she had revealed too much.
“You knew?”
No answer.
“You knew Rachel was coming?”
“This marriage has been unhappy for years.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“My son deserved happiness.”
“And Sophie deserved pneumonia?”
“Oh, quit exaggerating.”
“You locked a three-year-old outside in December.”
“For ten minutes.”
I clutched the phone.
“How do you know it was ten minutes?”
Silence.
Emily had never told Lorraine how long she had stood outside.
Neither had I.
Lorraine had been there.
Not only had she packed the bags.
She had purposely waited before unlocking nothing, offering nothing, doing nothing while her granddaughter cried in the rain.
“Don’t call me again,” I said.
I hung up.
Three days later, Emily went back home with Rebecca and a police officer while Daniel stayed at Lorraine’s.
Rachel was gone.
So were several valuable items.
The television.
Daniel’s gaming computer.
A sound system.
Two watches Emily had given him.
And a locked file cabinet from the basement.
Emily photographed each empty space.
The file cabinet worried Rebecca most.
“Was it his?”
“I thought it contained tax records.”
Rebecca quickly contacted the detective handling the fraud report.
Later that evening, officers went to Lorraine’s home.
Daniel first denied having the cabinet.
Then they located it in the garage.
Inside were tax returns, business invoices, copies of Emily’s Social Security card, bank statements, and blank sheets containing several versions of her signature.
There were also documents connected to three other lenders.
Daniel’s problem was no longer a broken marriage.
It was an official investigation.
A week before Christmas, he hired an attorney named Scott Meyers.
Scott called Rebecca with an offer.
Daniel would cooperate with the divorce.
He would drop any claim to the house.
He would accept monitored visitation temporarily.
In return, Emily would issue a written declaration saying she believed Daniel had never intended to cause her financial harm.
Rebecca read the offer aloud.
Emily looked at her.
“Would that help his case?”
“Possibly.”
“Then no.”
Daniel raised the offer.
He agreed to provide child support.
Emily said no.
He offered to transfer his vehicle.
No.
Finally, Daniel sent Emily a direct message.
I made mistakes. But if you push this, Sophie might lose her father.
Emily showed it to Rebecca.
Rebecca advised her not to answer.
Emily didn’t.
Christmas morning stayed simple.
Sophie unwrapped presents near my fireplace.
