I read Grant's message three times.
PLEASE DON'T CALL MY DAD.
Tessa watched my face.
“That isn't a normal thing to text.”
“No.”
My hands had begun shaking again.
Tessa reached for her phone.
“I’m calling Dad.”
I stopped her.
“Wait.”
She looked at me.
“Why?”
“If Grant is hiding something bigger, I want to hear what he says before we give him time to prepare.”
Tessa lowered her phone.
“You're not going back there?”
“No.”
I typed a message.
TELL ME EVERYTHING HERE.
The typing indicator appeared almost immediately.
Then vanished.
Then returned.
Finally, his answer came.
NOT OVER TEXT.
I felt something cold settle in my chest.
Tessa read the message.
“He doesn't want a record.”
“I know.”
I typed again.
THEN CALL ME.
My phone rang within seconds.
I put it on speaker.
Grant's breathing was heavy.
“Laurel.”
“I'm here.”
“Are you with Tessa?”
“Yes.”
He cursed quietly.
“Why did you tell her?”
“She already knows about the twenty thousand.”
Silence.
Then he said, “Okay.”
I almost laughed.
“Okay?”
“Laurel, I can explain.”
“Start.”
He breathed out slowly.
“Dad gave me the money to put toward the mortgage.”
“I know.”
“But I didn't use it for that.”
“I know that too.”
Silence followed.
“What did you do with it?”
“I paid off debt.”
My stomach tightened.
“What debt?”
“Some cards.”
“You told me you still owe twelve thousand.”
“I do.”
“So twenty thousand went toward cards and you still owe twelve thousand?”
“It wasn't just cards.”
“What else?”
“A loan.”
“What loan?”
He hesitated.
“Grant.”
“A personal loan.”
“For what?”
“I needed cash.”
“For what?”
His breathing changed.
He was searching for a version of the truth that would sound less terrible.
I stopped him.
“If you lie to me again, I'm ending this call.”
“I’m not lying.”
“Then answer.”
He went quiet.
Finally, he said, “I borrowed money to cover the investment.”
I stared at the wall.
“You borrowed money to invest?”
“It was supposed to be temporary.”
“How much?”
“Ten thousand.”
My voice barely came out.
“So let me understand this.”
I stood and began pacing.
“You took fifteen thousand from our savings.”
“Yes.”
“You borrowed another ten thousand.”
“Yes.”
“And you put twenty-five thousand into the sports bar?”
He didn't answer.
“Grant.”
“Yes.”
Tessa covered her mouth.
I continued.
“Then your father gave you twenty thousand for our mortgage.”
“Yes.”
“And instead of telling him what had happened, you used his money to cover the mess?”
“I was trying to fix it.”
“No.”
My voice hardened.
“You were trying to hide it.”
“That isn't fair.”
“Fair?”
I stopped walking.
“You let your father believe his money had reduced our mortgage.”
“I was going to replace it.”
“With what?”
“When the business started making money.”
“But it didn't.”
“No.”
“And instead of telling me, you kept taking money from somewhere else.”
He said nothing.
I pressed my fingers against my forehead.
Then another thought struck me.
“Who owns the sports bar?”
“What?”
“Who owns it?”
“A guy named Evan.”
“Last name?”
“Why does that matter?”
“Because apparently I need to investigate my own husband.”
“Laurel.”
“Last name.”
“Mercer.”
Tessa suddenly sat upright.
“What?”
I muted the call.
“What is it?”
She grabbed my arm.
“Ask him if it's Evan Mercer from Northbrook.”
I unmuted.
“Grant, is Evan Mercer from Northbrook?”
There was a pause.
“Yes.”
Tessa's face drained of color.
I looked at her.
“What?”
She lowered her voice.
“Evan Mercer is Melissa's brother.”
I frowned.
“Who is Melissa?”
Tessa looked stunned.
“Grant's coworker.”
Something about her tone made my stomach tighten.
“What coworker?”
“The one he talks about all the time.”
“He has never mentioned a Melissa to me.”
Tessa's expression changed.
“Oh.”
That single word frightened me.
I unmuted the call.
“Grant.”
“Yeah?”
“Who is Melissa?”
Silence.
Tessa and I looked at each other.
“Grant.”
“She works with me.”
“Doing what?”
“Sales.”
“How well do you know her?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“A simple one.”
He sighed.
“Laurel, don't turn this into something it isn't.”
The sentence told me enough before he said anything else.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“Did you give money to her brother's business?”
“Yes, but—”
“Did she introduce you?”
“Yes.”
“Did she know you were investing?”
“Yes.”
“Did she know you were using our savings?”
Silence.
I stood completely still.
“Grant.”
“I talked to her about finances.”
My eyes closed.
“You talked to another woman about our finances before you talked to your wife?”
“It wasn't like that.”
“What was it like?”
“She understood the opportunity.”
Tessa covered her mouth.
I almost laughed again, but there was nothing funny left.
I asked, “How much does Melissa know about me?”
“What?”
“How much have you told her about me?”
“Laurel, stop.”
“No.”
“How much?”
He didn't answer.
I changed the question.
“Did you tell her I don't contribute?”
Silence.
“You did.”
“I was frustrated.”
“Did you tell her I live off you?”
“I don't remember.”
“You remember.”
“It was just venting.”
I walked toward Tessa's window.
Outside, the neighborhood was quiet. Porch lights glowed across the street. Cars sat in driveways. Everything looked ordinary.
My marriage didn't.
I asked, “Have you slept with her?”
Grant answered immediately.
“No.”
Too quickly.
I stayed silent.
He rushed on.
“No, Laurel. I have not.”
“Have you kissed her?”
“No.”
“Have you ever been alone with her outside work?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Drinks.”
“How many times?”
“I don't know.”
“Try.”
“Three or four.”
“With coworkers?”
“Sometimes.”
“And the other times?”
Silence.
“Grant.”
“Just us.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
“Did you hide those from me?”
“I didn't think they mattered.”
“You didn't think private drinks with a woman you discuss our marriage and finances with mattered?”
“She’s a friend.”
“Does she know her brother lost our money?”
He went quiet.
That was enough.
“She knows.”
“Yes.”
“Did she tell you not to tell me?”
“No.”
“Then why are you so terrified?”
He exhaled.
“Because Dad will lose his mind.”
“No, Grant.”
I looked at Tessa.
“You're afraid because your father gave you money based on a lie.”
“I didn't lie.”
“You told him it was going toward the mortgage.”
“I intended to replace it.”
“That is still a lie.”
His voice rose.
“I was trying to save us!”
“From what?”
“From everything!”
The shout startled both of us.
Grant continued, his voice strained.
“You think I like feeling like I'm carrying this whole life?”
“You're not carrying it.”
“That’s how it feels.”
“No.”
I said it quietly.
“You've spent years telling yourself that so you could justify treating me like I owed you.”
He went silent.
I continued.
“And while I was buying groceries and paying utilities, you were gambling with our savings.”
“It wasn't gambling.”
“What would you call it?”
“An investment.”
“An investment you hid.”
No answer.
“An investment you borrowed money for.”
No answer.
“An investment connected to a woman you hid from me.”
“Laurel—”
“And then you used your father's money to cover the damage.”
“Stop saying it like that.”
“How should I say it?”
He had no answer.
I ended the call.
Grant immediately called back.
I declined.
Again.
Declined.
Again.
Declined.
Then a message appeared.
PLEASE LET ME COME THERE.
Tessa shook her head.
“No.”
I agreed.
I typed:
DO NOT COME HERE TONIGHT.
His response came quickly.
WE NEED TO TALK FACE TO FACE.
I replied:
TOMORROW. NOT TONIGHT.
Then I turned my phone off.
Tessa watched me carefully.
“You okay?”
“No.”
It was the first completely honest answer I had given all night.
She sat beside me.
“There’s something else I should tell you.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
She hesitated.
“At Christmas, Melissa wasn't just somebody Grant mentioned.”
My stomach tightened.
“What do you mean?”
“Dad met her.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“At Grant's company holiday dinner.”
I remembered that night.
I hadn't gone.
I had been home finishing twelve holiday cake orders.
Grant had told me the party was boring and that he left early.
Apparently, that had been another version of reality.
Tessa continued.
“Dad told me afterward that Grant and Melissa seemed close.”
“How close?”
“He didn't accuse them of anything.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
Tessa swallowed.
“He said Melissa kept touching Grant's arm.”
I looked away.
“And Grant?”
“He didn't exactly move away.”
Tears pressed behind my eyes.
I refused to let them fall.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
Tessa looked ashamed.
“Because it didn't seem serious.”
“Apparently everything didn't seem serious.”
“Laurel—”
“I'm not blaming you.”
I sat down again.
“I'm blaming myself for believing him every time something felt wrong.”
Tessa leaned closer.
“You should call Dad tomorrow.”
“I will.”
“And ask him exactly what Grant told him when he asked for the money.”
“Yes.”
“And Laurel?”
I looked at her.
“Ask him if twenty thousand was the only money he gave Grant.”
My stomach dropped.
“Why would you say that?”
“Because Dad helped Grant before.”
I stared at her.
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
“How much?”
“I don't know.”
“For what?”
“He said it was for a tax problem.”
I felt numb.
“What tax problem?”
Tessa slowly shook her head.
“I thought you knew.”
“No.”
I walked to the kitchen counter and grabbed a notebook.
“What are you doing?”
“Writing down every question.”
I began making a list.
Twenty thousand from Dad.
Previous money from Dad.
Personal loan.
Hidden credit cards.
Sports bar investment.
Melissa.
Taxes.
I stared at the page.
Then added one final line.
WHAT ELSE?
The next morning, I woke after barely three hours of sleep.
My phone showed seventeen missed calls.
Nine were from Grant.
Three were from Denise.
Two were from Miles.
Three came from a number I didn't recognize.
I turned the phone back on.
Almost immediately, a new message appeared.
LAUREL, THIS IS MELISSA. PLEASE CALL ME BEFORE YOU TALK TO GRANT.
I stared at the screen.
Tessa walked into the room.
“What happened?”
I handed her the phone.
She read the message.
Then looked at me.
“Why would Melissa want to talk to you first?”
I didn't know.
Thirty seconds later, another message appeared.
THERE ARE THINGS GRANT HASN'T TOLD YOU.
My heart began pounding.
Then came a third.
AND SOME OF THE MONEY DIDN'T GO WHERE HE SAID IT DID.
Click here to continue reading: PART 5: Melissa Asked Me to Meet Her Before I Spoke to Grant, and What She Put on the Table Made His Story Impossible to Believe
Three Weeks After One Cruel Sentence, My Husband Invited His Entire Family to Dinner and Assumed I Would Quietly Save His Birthday Again
Part 4 of 20
