Chapter 2 - THE APARTMENT ON RAVENSWOOD
The apartment belonged to Vanessa.
That took less than one day to establish.
I did not need a private investigator for that part.
The transaction description led to a property management company.
The building was in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood.
Nice.
Two bedrooms.
Renovated kitchen.
Underground parking.
Monthly rent:
$2,850.
Exactly what had been leaving our joint checking account.
Daniel had told me those recurring withdrawals were part of a temporary equipment lease connected to Bennett Commercial Interiors, the small contracting company his father founded thirty years earlier.
I never questioned it.
Why would I?
Daniel was vice president of operations.
He often paid business expenses and reimbursed them later.
Except no reimbursement had ever arrived.
Five months of rent.
Deposit.
Application fee.
Parking.
Almost $19,000.
Margaret sat beside me at the kitchen table while I traced transactions.
She did not speak until I finished.
“Do you recognize any of it?”
“No.”
“Did Daniel ever mention renting an apartment for someone?”
“No.”
Her mouth tightened.
Robert came in wearing sweatpants and carrying coffee.
“What did you find?”
I turned the screen.
He read.
Then sat down.
“That payment description.”
“Yes?”
“Daniel submitted something similar through the company in September.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
Robert’s face changed.
“He said we were temporarily housing a project manager coming in from Milwaukee.”
“Was there a project manager?”
“There was supposed to be.”
“Did he come?”
“No.”
The room went silent.
Robert pulled out his phone.
Margaret stopped him.
“Who are you calling?”
“Accounting.”
“No.”
He frowned.
“Margaret.”
“Not from your personal phone.”
Something passed between them.
Then Robert understood.
“If Daniel used company reimbursements—”
“We find out properly.”
I almost smiled.
That was Margaret.
A teacher even in crisis.
Do not guess.
Document.
Robert called the outside accountant who handled Bennett Commercial Interiors’ annual review and requested copies of Daniel’s expense reimbursements for the previous eighteen months.
He gave no accusation.
Just:
“We’re conducting an internal review.”
By noon, Daniel called me.
I watched the phone ring.
Margaret watched too.
“Answer.”
I did.
“Hello?”
His voice was cautious.
“Can we talk?”
“We are talking.”
“Privately.”
“This is private.”
“Are you still at Mom’s?”
“Yes.”
He exhaled.
“Emily, Vanessa is going through a difficult situation.”
“You said that.”
“She and her son needed temporary help.”
“Is that why we’re paying her rent?”
Silence.
Beautiful, terrible silence.
Then:
“How did you—”
He stopped.
I said nothing.
He changed direction.
“It’s not what you think.”
“What do I think?”
“That I’m having some affair.”
“Are you?”
“Emily.”
“Yes or no?”
Another pause.
“You saw us at the mall. She was upset.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“You’re treating this like an interrogation.”
I almost admired the speed.
He had not answered one factual question and already my tone was the problem.
“Did you pay for Vanessa’s apartment using our joint account?”
“She needed help.”
“Did I agree?”
“I knew you wouldn’t understand.”
There it was.
Consent rebranded as anticipated disagreement.
“What about Meridian Jewelers?”
He went quiet.
“What did you buy?”
“Nothing important.”
“For whom?”
“Emily, come home.”
“For whom?”
He raised his voice.
“You’re going through every transaction now?”
“Yes.”
“That’s insane.”
“No.”
I looked at Margaret.
“It’s overdue.”
He hung up.
Margaret picked up her coffee.
“He lied badly.”
“He didn’t technically lie.”
She raised one eyebrow.
“He answered every question except the ones you asked.”
Fair.
That afternoon, Robert’s accountant sent an initial file.
The apartment payment had indeed appeared in one company reimbursement request.
Daniel submitted three months of rent as:
Temporary executive housing / project mobilization.
Total reimbursement:
$8,550.
Paid to Daniel.
Which meant part of Vanessa’s apartment had effectively been reimbursed by the family company.
Robert stared at the screen.
“He stole from the business.”
Margaret corrected him.
“We do not know that yet.”
He looked irritated.
“He submitted a personal apartment as project housing.”
“Then let the accountant establish it.”
Robert stood.
“I taught that boy better.”
Margaret looked at him.
“No.”
He stopped.
“We taught him a lot of things.”
Her voice softened.
“Apparently some of them didn’t stick.”
That night, Daniel texted again.
I’ll explain everything after Christmas. Please don’t destroy Mom and Dad’s holiday over this.
I saved it to the folder.
His affair.
His spending.
His lies.
May you like
And somehow I was about to destroy Christmas.
The folder was getting full.
