Chapter 3 - “If Charlotte Ever Leaves”Brandon moved quickly.
“Give me that.”
Hailey pulled her phone back.
“No.”
His expression changed.
“Hailey.”
“You said she knew.”
“I said enough.”
Charlotte almost laughed.
“Enough?”
Brandon turned toward her.
“Those texts sound worse than they are.”
“I’m curious how that sentence becomes better with context.”
Gertrude stepped closer.
“Charlotte, don’t be childish.”
Charlotte looked at her.
“Childish?”
“Yes. Brandon was making sure his mother had stability.”
“With my money.”
“With family money.”
Charlotte pointed toward Skylar.
“That girl under the table is family.”
Gertrude’s face tightened.
Charlotte continued.
“Apparently she just isn’t the kind of family you think deserves shrimp.”
Skylar stood behind Charlotte holding her backpack.
Gertrude looked toward the child.
“Don’t involve her in adult matters.”
Charlotte stared at her.
“You involved her when you told her my money belonged to you.”
Gertrude said nothing.
Charlotte turned back to Hailey.
“Send me screenshots of the whole conversation.”
Brandon laughed sharply.
“No.”
Hailey hesitated.
Charlotte didn’t beg.
She simply waited.
Hailey looked at Brandon.
Then Gertrude.
Then toward Skylar.
Finally she nodded.
“I will.”
Brandon’s chair scraped as he moved around the table.
“You have no idea what you’re doing.”
Hailey backed away.
“Apparently neither did I.”
Charlotte picked up her handbag.
“Skylar, we’re leaving.”
Brandon stepped in front of the doorway.
“Where?”
“Hotel.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“No.”
Charlotte looked at him.
“This is late.”
His expression flickered.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I should have noticed things sooner.”
Charlotte glanced down at Skylar.
The girl looked tired.
Not physically exhausted.
Emotionally.
There was something in her posture Charlotte had never recognized before.
The way her shoulders tightened whenever Gertrude spoke.
The way she watched Brandon’s face before answering questions.
The way she had whispered rather than complained.
Charlotte had been working sixty-hour weeks for almost a year.
A promotion.
A bigger salary.
More responsibility.
Every extra hour had been justified as something she was doing for her family.
Now she wondered what had been happening inside that family while she was gone.
Brandon lowered his voice.
“Don’t take her to some hotel at eleven at night.”
“It’s eight-thirty.”
“She has school tomorrow.”
“I’m aware.”
“I can sleep in the guest room.”
Charlotte studied him.
He wasn’t apologizing.
Not for Skylar.
Not for the card.
Not for the house.
He was negotiating logistics.
“You can sleep wherever you want.”
“Then stay.”
“No.”
Gertrude crossed her arms.
“You’re punishing everyone.”
Charlotte looked at her.
“I froze the card.”
Gertrude’s face changed.
“What?”
“The additional card is canceled.”
“You had no right—”
Charlotte actually laughed.
It escaped before she could stop it.
“No right?”
Gertrude looked embarrassed.
Brandon muttered, “Mom.”
But Gertrude was furious now.
“I use that card for groceries.”
“You spent $1,140 at Neiman Marcus last month.”
“That was for Christmas.”
“It was September.”
Hailey covered her mouth.
Maybe to hide a reaction.
Charlotte continued.
“There are nearly thirty thousand dollars in charges on that card since April.”
Gertrude paled slightly.
Charlotte hadn’t known the exact total until the bank representative told her.
She did now.
Twenty-nine thousand, eight hundred twelve dollars.
And that didn’t include the pending renovation deposit.
Brandon stepped forward.
“We’ll pay it back.”
“With what?”
He looked offended.
“My income.”
Charlotte stared at him.
That answer sounded wrong.
Not because Brandon didn’t work.
He was supposedly a regional sales director for a construction supply company.
He earned around $130,000 annually.
At least he had the year before.
“Fine,” Charlotte said. “Transfer thirty thousand tonight.”
Brandon’s eyes moved.
Just slightly.
That was enough.
“Transfer it.”
“I’m not moving money while you’re angry.”
“I’m not asking you to move my money.”
Silence.
Charlotte’s pulse sharpened.
“Brandon.”
He looked at her.
“How much is in your account?”
“This is absurd.”
“How much?”
Gertrude interrupted.
“His finances are none of your business.”
Charlotte slowly turned her head.
“My husband’s finances?”
“Yes. A man should have independence.”
“And my finances belong to all of you?”
Gertrude didn’t answer.
Charlotte looked back at Brandon.
“When was your last paycheck?”
His face changed.
Hailey saw it too.
Charlotte stepped closer.
“When?”
“Charlotte.”
“What happened to your job?”
“Nothing happened.”
“Then show me your last direct deposit.”
He laughed.
“I’m not proving employment to my wife.”
Charlotte felt something click into place.
The expensive dinner.
The secret house.
The renovation payment.
Gertrude’s card.
Brandon’s refusal to repay anything.
She remembered that he had stopped complaining about his commute months ago.
He claimed he was working from home more often.
He had started taking calls in the garage.
Said his territory changed.
Charlotte had believed him.
“Did you lose your job?”
“No.”
“Did you quit?”
“No.”
“Are you still employed by WestMark Supply?”
Brandon said nothing.
Charlotte’s chest tightened.
Skylar whispered behind her.
“Dad doesn’t go to work anymore.”
Every adult in the room looked at her.
Brandon’s voice became sharp.
“Skylar.”
The girl flinched.
Charlotte stepped between them immediately.
“Don’t speak to her like that.”
Brandon’s jaw clenched.
Skylar held Charlotte’s coat.
“He said he works on his computer.”
Charlotte looked at Brandon.
“How long?”
Skylar answered because Brandon didn’t.
“Since before school started.”
August.
Three months.
Charlotte felt cold.
Hailey looked confused.
“You told Mom you got moved to remote sales.”
Brandon turned toward her.
“I am working.”
“For who?” Charlotte asked.
He looked away.
That was the answer.
Charlotte had spent three months leaving the house before sunrise while her unemployed husband stayed home.
And during that same period, his mother had been spending thousands on Charlotte’s credit card.
She looked at Gertrude.
“You knew.”
Gertrude’s silence confirmed it.
Charlotte’s anger became almost emotionless.
“You all knew.”
Hailey shook her head.
“I thought he was consulting.”
“Enough,” Brandon snapped.
Charlotte picked up Skylar’s backpack.
“No. Not enough.”
She looked at Hailey.
“Send me the screenshots.”
Then she looked at Brandon.
“And before you delete anything, remember Hailey has been filming your family dinners for months.”
Hailey went still.
Brandon did too.
Charlotte noticed.
“What?”
Nobody answered.
Charlotte looked at Hailey.
“What have you filmed?”
Hailey’s face had gone pale.
“I need to check something.”
She opened her video library.
Scrolled.
Stopped.
Then slowly raised her eyes toward Gertrude.
“Oh my God.”
“What?” Charlotte asked.
Hailey turned the screen.
A video from three weeks earlier played silently at first.
Gertrude was laughing over another expensive dinner.
Brandon sat beside her.
Skylar was nowhere visible.
Then Hailey increased the volume.
Gertrude’s recorded voice filled the room.
“By the time Charlotte realizes where the money went, Valencia Ridge will already be ours.”
Nobody moved.
May you like
And then Brandon’s recorded voice answered:
“That’s the point.”
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