LLC.
Theo’s birth certificate.
He stared.
The arrogance disappeared.
“This looks bad.”
“That sentence might be the first honest thing you’ve said.”
He sat again.
I remained standing.
“How long have you been with Mara?”
His mouth tightened.
“Four years.”
I closed my eyes.
Four.
Before I left.
Before Theo was born.
Before the assignment.
Before every sacrifice.
I opened my eyes.
“So when you told me taking the Kuala Lumpur contract would help us build our future—”
“I meant it.”
“No.”
“Sariah.”
“You already had a pregnant woman in Chicago.”
“She wasn’t pregnant when this started.”
I stared at him.
“That is your defense?”
“No.”
He rubbed both hands over his face.
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
“Before or after I moved eight thousand miles away?”
He said nothing.
“Did you encourage me to take the contract because you wanted me gone?”
“No.”
Too fast.
I watched him.
“Corbin.”
“No.”
He leaned forward.
“That’s not what happened.”
“Then what happened?”
He looked exhausted.
“Mara got pregnant unexpectedly.”
I waited.
“I panicked.”
“Understandable.”
“I thought I could fix everything.”
“With whose money?”
His face tightened.
“I took care of Theo because he’s my son.”
“Using my salary.”
“Our money.”
That phrase almost made me laugh.
“No.”
“It was marital income.”
“Do not use legal language to make theft sound mutual.”
He stood.
“I didn’t steal from you.”
“You refinanced our condo without telling me.”
“You signed the power of attorney.”
“For our home.”
“I used it to protect assets.”
I stared.
“You pulled two hundred twenty-eight thousand dollars out.”
“I reinvested it.”
“In Mara’s home.”
“In property.”
“Where Mara lives rent-free?”
“She pays expenses.”
“From what?”
He went quiet.
I knew.
He had been paying those too.
“How much does she know?”
He looked away.
