Chapter 15: The Truth Behind the Missing Money

Three days after I signed the lease, I received a message from my lawyer.

“Rowan, we found something you need to see.”

I called her immediately.

“What happened?”

“The bank's review uncovered another transfer.”

My stomach tightened.

“Another one?”

“Yes. It was made from the wedding account nearly two months before the fourteen-thousand-dollar transfer.”

She sent me the transaction record.

I opened it and stared at the screen.

$3,800.

The recipient wasn't Chloe.

It wasn't Jason either.

It was an account belonging to a company I had never heard of.

“Do you recognize this business?” my lawyer asked.

“No.”

“Neither did the bank initially. But we checked the registration information.”

I waited.

“The company is connected to Jason's brother.”

My hand went completely still.

Jason's brother.

The same Jason who was now married to Chloe.

“Are you saying Noah gave them money too?”

“I'm saying we need to find out exactly what happened before making that conclusion.”

I looked at the transaction again.

The date was two days before Chloe announced her pregnancy.

A strange feeling settled over me.

Maybe the fourteen thousand dollars hadn't been the beginning.

Maybe it had only been the largest amount I had finally noticed.

...

Back in Boston, Noah was having a very different kind of conversation.

He sat across from Jason at a coffee shop, the bank's email open on his phone.

“What is this?”

Jason looked at the screen and immediately became defensive.

“It's nothing.”

“Three thousand eight hundred dollars isn't nothing.”

Jason leaned forward.

“Your fiancée was going to marry you. You said the wedding account was available.”

Noah's expression hardened.

“I never said you could take money from it.”

Jason gave a short laugh.

“You transferred it.”

“Because you told me you'd pay it back.”

“And I will.”

“When?”

Jason didn't answer.

Noah stared at him.

“What did you use it for?”

Jason looked away.

That was when Noah knew something was wrong.

...

That evening, Noah went home and confronted Chloe.

“Did you know Jason's brother received money from our wedding account?”

Chloe's face changed.

Only for a second.

But Noah saw it.

“What are you talking about?”

“Three thousand eight hundred dollars.”

“I don't know anything about that.”

“You're lying.”

Chloe's eyes widened.

“Excuse me?”

Noah threw the printed transaction onto the table.

“I trusted you. I trusted Jason. And now Rowan is gone, the bank is investigating the account, and I'm finding out money disappeared months ago.”

Chloe picked up the paper.

Her fingers trembled.

“Maybe Jason needed it.”

“For what?”

She didn't answer.

Noah stared at her.

“For what, Chloe?”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“You don't understand.”

“Then explain it.”

She looked toward the hallway.

“Jason had debts.”

Noah went silent.

“What kind of debts?”

Chloe shook her head.

“I don't know everything.”

“But you knew he was taking money.”

“I knew he needed help.”

Noah laughed bitterly.

“Just like you needed a house. Just like you needed our wedding venue. Just like everyone always needs something.”

Chloe's face hardened.

“Don't blame me for this.”

“Then who am I supposed to blame?”

Neither of them had an answer.

...

The next morning, my lawyer arranged a conference call with the bank.

They confirmed that the fourteen-thousand-dollar transfer and the earlier three-thousand-eight-hundred-dollar payment were both under review.

More importantly, they confirmed that the original deposits into the account had come overwhelmingly from me.

I listened quietly.

For months, Noah had called the money ours.

Now the paperwork was beginning to tell a different story.

After the call, my lawyer said, “There is one more thing.”

I frowned.

“What?”

“The bank requested a copy of the original wedding budget.”

“Why?”

“Because several payments were made to vendors after Noah changed the venue reservation.”

I sat up straight.

“After he gave the venue to Chloe?”

“Yes.”

She sent me another document.

I opened it.

There were deposits for catering, decorations, transportation, and photography.

All under Chloe and Jason's names.

They hadn't simply taken my venue.

They had continued using my wedding account to pay for their wedding.

I stared at the total.

$6,240.

My throat tightened.

It was one thing to have someone take your plans.

It was another to discover they had quietly used your future to build theirs.

I forwarded every document to my lawyer.

“I want every transaction reviewed.”

“Already requested.”

...

That afternoon, Noah called from another number.

I almost ignored it.

Then I answered.

“What?”

His voice sounded exhausted.

“Rowan, please listen.”

“I'm listening.”

“I found out about the other transfer.”

I said nothing.

“I didn't know Jason was using the money like that.”

“But you knew you were spending my money.”

“I thought it was ours.”

“You keep saying that.”

He went quiet.

“Do you know what hurts the most?” I asked.

“What?”

“You didn't have to steal anything from me.”

His breathing stopped for a second.

“I would have helped you if you had asked.”

“I know.”

“That's what makes it worse.”

My voice shook for the first time.

“You knew I would have said yes. You knew exactly how to make me feel guilty for saying no. So you never gave me the choice.”

Noah didn't respond.

I continued.

“You didn't trust me enough to let me decide what happened to my own life.”

“Rowan, I love you.”

I closed my eyes.

Once, those words would have broken me.

Now they sounded empty.

“Love without respect isn't enough.”

“Can we fix this?”

“No.”

He inhaled sharply.

“You haven't even given me a chance.”

“You had years.”

Silence.

Then Noah whispered, “Is there someone else?”

I almost laughed.

“Noah, there was never someone else.”

I paused.

“There was just me. And somehow, that was always the person everyone was willing to sacrifice.”

I ended the call.

This time, I didn't feel guilty.

...

That night, I unpacked the last box in my new apartment.

At the bottom was a photograph of my grandmother.

She was standing beside me when I was a child, one hand resting on my shoulder.

I remembered something she had told me years ago.

“Never let anyone convince you that keeping the peace is the same thing as being loved.”

Back then, I hadn't understood.

Now I did.

I placed the photograph on my nightstand.

Then I looked around my apartment.

Everything was quiet.

Everything was mine.

And somewhere across the country, the people who had spent years taking from me were finally learning that I had stopped giving.

But I didn't know yet that the next discovery would change everything.

Because the money wasn't the only thing Noah had hidden from me.