Chapter 5: The Message From His Sister-in-Law
Nia stood beneath the restaurant's exterior lights, reading Tasha's message.
The night air carried the smell of wet pavement and exhaust from passing cars. Through the glass doors, she could see Daniel talking rapidly to his mother.
He hadn't noticed that Nia had stopped walking.
She opened the message thread.
*Nia:* What shared account?
Three dots appeared, disappeared, then appeared again.
*Tasha:* The household account you and Daniel use for bills.
Nia frowned.
*Nia:* What about it?
The reply took nearly a minute.
*Tasha:* Please don't confront him about this in front of everybody. I think you should check the account history first.
Nia's stomach tightened.
She typed carefully.
*Nia:* Tasha, if you know something about my finances, tell me directly.
The phone remained silent.
Inside the restaurant, Daniel turned toward the doors.
Nia stepped away from the window.
She didn't want another confrontation in front of his relatives. More importantly, she didn't want to make accusations before she understood what she was looking at.
She opened her banking app again.
Her personal card remained locked. She navigated to the household account, the account she and Daniel had established two years earlier to pay their mortgage, utilities, insurance, and shared expenses.
They each contributed money every month.
They had agreed that the account would be used for household obligations, not personal purchases.
Nia entered the account history.
The most recent transactions appeared in a neat list.
Mortgage payment.
Electricity.
Water.
Insurance.
Grocery store.
Then she saw a transfer she didn't recognize.
She tapped it.
The description was vague, and the amount was larger than their usual household purchases.
Nia checked the date.
Three days earlier.
Her thumb hovered over the screen.
She opened the details.
The transaction appeared to be an outgoing transfer, but the available information did not clearly identify its final purpose. She needed the bank's full record before deciding what it meant.
She took a screenshot.
Then she checked the next transaction.
Another unfamiliar transfer.
Different amount.
Same date.
Her pulse quickened.
She scrolled back through the previous month.
There were ordinary household payments, but she also found several transactions she couldn't immediately explain. Some were small enough to resemble routine expenses. Others were large enough that she would have remembered authorizing them.
She stopped scrolling.
She refused to let panic fill in the missing details.
There might be legitimate explanations. Daniel could have paid an expense she had forgotten. A merchant could have used an unfamiliar billing name. The bank might have grouped transactions in a confusing way.
But the timing was impossible to ignore.
She sent Tasha another message.
*Nia:* What did you see?
This time, the response came quickly.
*Tasha:* I saw Daniel discussing the dinner with Marcus. He said you wouldn't object because you never checked the account closely.
Nia read the message twice.
Then she typed:
*Nia:* When did he say that?
*Tasha:* Last week. At Denise's house.
Nia closed her eyes for a moment.
Last week, she had been working late on a project. Daniel had gone to his mother's house to help assemble furniture for a guest bedroom.
When he returned, he had told Nia that the family was grateful for everything she did.
She remembered smiling.
She remembered believing him.
Another message appeared.
*Tasha:* I thought he meant you had agreed to pay for dinner. I didn't know he was doing anything without your permission.
Nia leaned against the brick wall beside the entrance.
*Nia:* Did you know about the transfers?
A long pause followed.
Then:
*Tasha:* No. I only saw something on his phone tonight when he left it on the table.
Nia straightened.
*Nia:* What did you see?
The typing indicator appeared.
Then vanished.
Then appeared again.
*Tasha:* A banking notification. I couldn't read the whole thing. He grabbed the phone when I asked what it was.
Nia looked through the doors.
Daniel was no longer at the table.
He stood in the lobby, searching the street.
Their eyes met through the glass.
He lifted one hand, motioning for her to come back inside.
She didn't move.
Her phone vibrated.
*Tasha:* Please be careful. He's been saying you've been stressed lately and forgetting things.
Nia felt a cold sensation spread through her chest.
Forgetting things?
She read the sentence again.
Daniel had made similar comments over the past month.
He had joked that she was always distracted. He had teased her about forgetting a grocery item. He had once told his mother that Nia was so busy with work that she barely noticed what happened around her.
At the time, she had thought he was making harmless conversation.
Now, those memories had acquired an uncomfortable edge.
She typed:
*Nia:* Why would he say that?
Tasha's answer was immediate.
*Tasha:* I don't know. But tonight, when you questioned the reservation, he said you probably wouldn't remember agreeing to the dinner.
Nia stared at the screen.
The words were unmistakable.
Daniel hadn't merely expected her to pay.
He had been prepared to suggest that she had forgotten agreeing to it.
She looked toward the restaurant doors again.
Daniel had stepped outside.
"Nia," he called.
"What are you doing?""
She locked her phone.
"Reading a message.""
"From whom?""
"That's not important.""
His expression changed.
"Is it Marcus?""
"No.""
"Then who?""
Nia studied his face.
"You seem very interested in who I'm talking to.""
"I'm your husband. I have a right to know what's going on.""
She gave him a disbelieving look.
"You've spent the entire evening refusing to explain what's going on with my money.""
Daniel exhaled sharply.
"I told you I was handling the arrangements.""
"And I've told you that isn't an answer.""
He moved closer, lowering his voice.
"Listen to me. Things have been difficult lately. I've had expenses you don't know about. I was trying to avoid worrying you.""
Nia waited.
He looked almost relieved to have finally offered a new explanation.
"That's all this is," he continued.
"I made a decision. Maybe I should have told you. But I wasn't trying to hurt you.""
"What expenses?""
"Business expenses.""
"Which business?""
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Why do you need to turn everything into an interrogation?""
"Because you keep giving me answers that don't answer anything.""
Daniel glanced toward the street.
"I can explain when we get home.""
Nia shook her head.
"No. You'll explain when you have the records to support what you're saying.""
His face hardened.
"You're acting like I stole from you.""
"I'm acting like someone who discovered a financial authorization she didn't make.""
He looked away.
For a moment, Nia thought he might finally tell her something real.
Instead, he said, "You know how my family is. They expect me to provide. They see you doing well, and they think we're doing well together. I didn't want them to know we were struggling.""
Nia stared at him.
"Are we struggling?""
He didn't answer.
"Daniel, are we struggling financially?""
"We've had some pressure.""
"What kind of pressure?""
"Nothing we can't manage.""
"Then why did you use my card without asking?""
He opened his mouth, then shut it.
Nia felt the last of her hope for a simple explanation begin to fade.
She could understand financial pressure. She could understand embarrassment. She could even understand a spouse making a poor decision and being afraid to admit it.
What she couldn't accept was being expected to finance a mystery while her husband insisted that asking questions was the real problem.
"I need space tonight," she said.
Daniel's eyes widened.
"You're not coming home?""
"I didn't say that. I said I need space.""
"Where are you going to go?""
"Somewhere I can think without being told what I'm allowed to ask.""
He stepped in front of her.
"Nia, don't do this.""
She moved around him.
He turned quickly.
"If you leave now, you're making a huge mistake.""
She stopped.
"Is that another warning?""
"No. I'm trying to save our marriage.""
"Then start by telling me the truth.""
Daniel's shoulders dropped.
For one second, he looked exhausted.
Then his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
The name displayed there was Marcus.
Daniel declined the call.
It rang again.
This time, Daniel answered.
"What?"" he snapped.
Nia couldn't hear Marcus's words, but she could hear the urgency in his brother-in-law's voice.
Daniel turned away.
"I told you I'd handle it.""
A pause.
"No, she doesn't know.""
Another pause.
Daniel's head jerked toward Nia.
He lowered his voice.
"Not on the phone.""
Then he ended the call.
Nia stood perfectly still.
Daniel slipped his phone into his pocket.
"What doesn't Marcus want me to know?"" she asked.
"Nothing.""
"You just told him I don't know something.""
"I was talking about the reservation.""
"Then say that.""
Daniel looked at her.
He didn't.
Nia turned and walked toward the parking area.
Behind her, he called her name once, then twice.
She didn't stop.
When she reached her car, she sat behind the steering wheel and locked the doors.
Her phone buzzed again.
Tasha had sent a photograph.
It showed a printed document lying on a kitchen counter. Most of the page was out of frame, but one section was visible.
A transaction reference.
A date.
And a line identifying the destination of a transfer from the household account.
Nia enlarged the image.
The destination was an account she didn't recognize.
Underneath the photograph, Tasha had written six words.
*I think this is what he meant.*
Nia stared at the document until her eyes began to ache.
Then she looked at the date.
May you like
The transfer had occurred three days before the restaurant reservation.
And the account listed as its destination appeared to have been opened under Daniel's name.
