“Move,” Kevin said.

Matt stayed between him and the table.

“No.

Sit down and answer her.”

Kevin pointed at the statement.

“That is private.”

“We’re married,” I said.

“What part of our money is private?”

His mother slid the paper toward me.

Her name was Elaine, but I had never seen her look at Kevin with such cold disappointment.

The payment was made to K&R Ventures.

“What is K&R?” I asked.

Kevin pulled out his chair.

“A business opportunity.”

“What business?”

“It’s complicated.”

Matt gave a humorless laugh.

“Apparently not too complicated for you to take money from Mom.”

Kevin turned on him.

“Stay out of this.”

“You dragged me into it,” Matt replied.

“You asked me to invest.”

I looked at Matt.

“You knew?”

“I knew about the company.

I didn’t know he lied to Elaine about hiring help for you.”

Elaine tapped the statement.

“He told me you were exhausted and needed someone to clean twice a week.

He said you were too embarrassed to ask me yourself.”

“I never asked for help.”

“I know that now,” she said softly.

Kevin pushed back from the table.

“It was an investment.

When it pays off, everyone gets their money back.”

“What did you invest in?” I asked.

“A restaurant.”

Matt shook his head.

“A sports bar.”

Kevin glared at him.

“Same difference.”

“No, it isn’t,” Matt said.

“Especially when the building doesn’t exist.”

The room went still.

Kevin’s chair scraped across the floor.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I drove to the address,” Matt said.

“It’s an empty storefront with a leasing sign in the window.”

“The deal hasn’t closed yet.”

“Then why did you tell me renovations had started?”

Kevin reached for the statement again.

Elaine placed her hand over it.

“Don’t touch this.”

“Mom, you’ll get your money.”

“When?”

“As soon as the financing clears.”

I felt my stomach tighten.

“What financing?”

Kevin looked toward the doorway instead of at me.

Matt took a folded document from his back pocket.

“This financing.”

Kevin’s face changed.

“Where did you get that?”

“It was on the printer in your office.”

“You went through my things?”

“It printed while I was fixing your computer connection.

I saw her name.”

Matt placed the document beside the bank statement.

It was an application for a home equity loan.

My name was printed at the top.

“What is this?” I whispered.

Kevin stood up.

“A preliminary application.

It means nothing.”

The amount requested was eighty-five thousand dollars.

I looked at the signature on the final page.

It resembled mine until the last letter curved the wrong way.

“I didn’t sign this.”

“You signed a stack of paperwork last month,” Kevin said.

“You probably forgot.”

“No.

I didn’t.”

“You forget things all the time.”

“Name one.”

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Elaine lifted the document and held it beside the light.

“Kevin, did you sign your wife’s name?”

“It’s our house.

It’s our equity.”

“That wasn’t my question,” she said.

Kevin looked at me.

“You wanted the children to have a better life, didn’t you?”

“Do not use our children to explain this.”

“If the business succeeds, we’ll be set.”

“And if it fails?”

“It won’t.”

Matt pointed to a line near the bottom.

“Then why is the money being sent to an account only you control?”

Kevin lunged for the document.

Matt caught his wrist and pushed the paper behind him.

“Give it to me!”

“No.”

Kevin’s phone lit up on the table.

A message appeared beneath a contact named Darren:

THE BANK APPROVED IT.

FUNDS RELEASE TOMORROW.

I read it aloud.

Kevin grabbed the phone, but Elaine was already staring at him.

“Tomorrow?” I asked.

“You said this application meant nothing.”

Matt unfolded a second page.

His voice dropped as he read the date.

“The closing wasn’t tomorrow.

It happened yesterday.”