He had been quietly preparing to leave me.
Richard had expected to empty my account, stabilize his failing company just enough to keep up appearances, hide the rest of the money somewhere I’d never find it, and file for divorce himself before I ever discovered what had actually happened.
The family reunion hadn’t caused the end of my marriage. It had simply shown me, in the clearest terms possible, that I no longer needed to delay the ending any further.
Richard showed up at Nina’s Denver office three days later. He’d taken the first available flight out of Richmond and arrived still wearing the same navy jacket from the reunion, now badly wrinkled, his jaw unshaven, the easy confidence he usually carried into every room replaced by something careful and exhausted.
Nina didn’t let him past the lobby. She met him there while I watched through the security camera feed in her conference room.
