Digging Deeper
Later that night, Mara found Iris slumped on the couch, absorbed in her phone. The shadows in the living room felt heavier as the weight of her husband’s secrets pushed down on her. “I need your help,” she said, sitting beside her daughter.
Iris looked up, curiosity piqued. “With what?”
“Your dad,” Mara started, unsure how to frame it. “I think he’s hiding something. Can we look into his work?”
“Like snooping?” Iris asked, eyes wide.
“Exactly,” Mara replied, trying to match her daughter’s enthusiasm. “I need to know what’s really going on.”
Hours passed as they sifted through documents, each page revealing more discrepancies. With every search, Mara’s heart sank deeper. “Look at this,” Iris pointed at a series of transactions. “These numbers don’t add up.”
Mara leaned over, squinting at the screen. “A hidden investment… and he never told me.”
“Mom, this is serious. What if he’s in trouble?” Iris whispered, her voice filled with concern.
Mara nodded, her mind racing. “It gets worse. If this project fails, it could ruin everything. Our home, our future…”
Suddenly, Iris’s expression shifted. “Wait, what if he’s doing this to pay off a debt? Or to save someone?”
“Or to save himself,” Mara murmured, dread pooling in her stomach. The implications hit like a tidal wave.
Just then, Evander’s voice carried from the hall, echoing through the house. “What are you two doing up?”
Mara’s heart raced as Iris froze, eyes wide. “We were just—”
Before she could finish, Iris blurted, “I need to go!” and dashed out of the room, her footsteps fading into the corridor.
Mara’s breath caught in her throat, the realization crashing down. She had lost not only the evidence but her daughter’s trust, leaving her to grapple with the fallout of a confrontation that had only just begun.
Confronting the Truth
Mara stood in the dim light of their bedroom, her heart pounding as she clutched the documents. “You’ve been lying to me, Evander. About Sable, about everything!”
Evander’s expression hardened, but she could see the flicker of fear in his eyes. “I’m not lying. Sable is just a colleague; you have to believe me!”
“Believe you?” She stepped closer, closing the distance between them. “You’re hiding things. I know about the investment fund. Why didn’t you tell me?”
He rubbed his temples, frustration etched across his face. “It’s complicated, Mara. I didn’t want you to worry.”
“Worry? You’ve destroyed our lives for just ‘not wanting me to worry’?” Her voice trembled. “Do you hear how ridiculous that sounds?”
“You think I wanted this?” Evander ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. “I’m drowning at work, and Sable… she’s just someone to talk to.”
“So, it’s about you feeling trapped?” Mara pressed, her voice tinged with skepticism.
“I thought I could fix it all, go back to who I was before Northvale, before the pressure.” The vulnerability in his voice caught her off guard, but she couldn’t let it sway her. “I just wanted to escape.”
Before she could respond, a soft voice broke the tension. “Mom?” Iris stood at the doorway, eyes wide. “What’s going on?”
Mara felt her stomach plunge, the words caught in her throat. “Iris, it’s not what it looks like.”
But Iris had already turned on her heel and ran down the hall, leaving Mara with a stunned silence and Evander’s gaze filled with something darker.
