Seconds after we hung up, a text message from Mariana popped up on my phone:
I need to tell you something before your mother—
Then it vanished from the screen. Message deleted by sender.
I called her back immediately. Mariana didn’t answer. Thirty seconds later, my mother called me instead.
“Is everything okay, son?” Evelyn asked sweetly.
I hadn’t told my mother I was trying to reach Mariana. A cold chill ran down my spine.
I lied, telling my mother my business trip was being extended by three days, and booked the very first flight back to Austin. I didn’t tell a soul I was returning.
At dawn, I parked my car two streets away from our house. At 6:40 AM, I saw Mariana walk out the front gate. She didn’t take her SUV. She didn’t call a rideshare. She walked nearly twenty minutes in the morning cold to a small local market.
I followed her on foot.
She picked up milk, eggs, fresh fruit, generic pain relievers, and coffee. When she reached the register, her credit card was declined. She tried a second card. Declined again.
“Again?” the cashier asked sympathetically.
Mariana offered a tight, embarrassed smile. “Yes. It must be a system glitch at the bank.”
Again. That single word hit me like a physical blow.
Mariana reached into her purse, pulling out a small wad of crumpled cash. She handed back the coffee, then returned half the fruit to the display shelf to cover the balance.
I had deposited ten thousand dollars into our household operating account just nine days earlier. I could have stepped out from behind the aisle, paid for her groceries, and demanded to know what the hell was happening.
I didn’t.
For the first time, I realized that swooping in to fix the problem with money might prevent me from uncovering who was causing it.
I trailed her back to the house. That was when I saw her slip through the side service entrance.
I waited until nightfall. I had bought the property seven years ago and knew every inch of it, including a quiet side entrance connected to a utility storage room. I slipped inside without making a sound.
I walked up the grand staircase to the master suite and pushed the door open.
A wave of ice rushed through my veins.
