“What the hell?!” Rodrigo yelled.
He actually pulled out his wallet and stared at his credit card. Like looking at it hard enough might reverse the charges.
The lead server handed him the signed invoice.
“Everything’s been settled in full, sir.”
“Settled with what?!”
“With the card your wife provided. We also have written confirmation from the cardholder authorizing all necessary expenses.”
And Rodrigo remembered.
My text. Are you confirming I should use your card to get this handled?
And his own reply. Yes. Whatever it takes. Stop asking me about every little thing.
He’d authorized every penny. In writing. He couldn’t even dispute it with his bank.
George’s grin was gone. “Wait. What’s going on here?”
Lauren had walked into the kitchen. She saw my note on the counter. She picked it up and read it silently.
Her face went white.
“Rodrigo,” she whispered.
“What?” he snapped.
She held out the paper. George grabbed it out of her hand before Rodrigo could and read it out loud.
When he got to the last line, P.S. I saw the notifications on your tablet. I know there was never a hotel, the room went completely silent.
“She knows?” Lauren said. Her voice was very small.
Rodrigo didn’t answer.
“She knows what?” George said. He looked back and forth between them.
Lauren realized, too late, what she’d just given away. George had never seen those texts. He hadn’t been part of the private thread with Lauren and Rodrigo. He’d just assumed his brother had talked his wife into it like a normal person.
Rodrigo put his face in his hands.
“Daniela saw the texts on my tablet.”
George swore under his breath. “Where is she?”
“Probably at some hotel,” Rodrigo muttered.
“With what money?”
Rodrigo looked up slowly. And the horror dawned on him.
Her savings.
He pulled out his phone and opened our banking app. Our shared account. The emergency fund.
The three thousand dollars wasn’t there.
It had never been there.
I’d moved it to my own personal checking account weeks before, when I got my last bonus. Every dollar of it came from my overtime and my performance bonuses. Not a penny of it was his.
He’d just never once checked.
Then my one and only text of the night came through.
I’m safe. Don’t look for me. I’ll see you in Atlanta on our scheduled return date. Enjoy your vacation.
He called me immediately. I let it ring.
He called twelve more times.
My phone sat on silent on a little glass table next to a lounge chair. Beside an infinity pool. Overlooking the ocean. I was wearing a white resort robe and drinking an iced tea with a sprig of mint in it.
I didn’t hear a single one of those calls.
Sophia Rivers is an experienced News Content Editor with a sharp eye for detail and a passion for delivering accurate and engaging news stories. At TheArchivists, she specializes in curating, editing, and presenting news content that informs and resonates with a global audience.
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