Alex looked no older than thirty. Her blonde hair rested loosely on her shoulders, and an oversized sweater slipped off one side. She stared at me in confusion.
“Yes? Can I help you?”
I inhaled slowly, every breath hurting.
“I think you can. I’m Jake’s wife.”
She froze.
“His… wife?”
“That’s right. Martha. The woman who’s paying the bills. The one he’s building his dream farm with.”
A short, bitter laugh escaped her lips, but her eyes stayed serious. She opened the door wider.
“Get inside. We’re not doing this on the porch.”
I stepped in.
Her hands were trembling.
“Why are you here? To call me a witch? Tell me to stay away?”
I nearly laughed myself.
What an unbelievable mess he’d created.
“Who are you to my husband? Why did he come here instead of going to the business meeting?”
Alex looked away for a moment before lifting her chin.
“I’m the woman he’s going to marry. After he leaves you.”
“Marry you? He told you that?”
“Yes. He said you’re impossible to live with. Controlling. And I… I’ll give him everything to help.”
“Money?”
“Yes. He said he needed it for lawyers. To pay off the divorce settlement. And alimony for your kid.”
I stared at her in disbelief.
“I sold my parents’ lake house so he could start a business. I was on my way to the bank this morning to give him every last penny I had.”
“You didn’t?”
“No, Alex. But I almost did. Until I picked up his phone by mistake. Heard your sweet little voice.”
She looked at me as though she had just seen her own reflection crack.
“I sold my shares in my father’s company for him. He said we’d get a new place together, far from here. He swore he was done with you.”
“Then why did he hide you? Why lie to me that this was all for us?”
Alex glanced up, mascara smeared beneath her eyes.
“So what do we do now?”
“If we let him believe he still has both of us, he’ll walk straight into his own trap.”
She wiped away a tear.
“And then?”
“Then we take back what’s ours.”
At last, she smiled.
“Tell me everything.”
I told Jake I had transferred every dollar into his account and smiled exactly the way he expected his loyal wife to smile.
“It’ll go through in three days.”
Alex played along too.
She told him she’d soon have the rest of the money ready, just like he wanted. Together they arranged a dinner date.
We already had our own plan.
I would be there too.
Hidden in plain sight.
I arrived before either of them and chose a table directly behind theirs.
I wore an old coat borrowed from Alex and a cheap blonde wig I’d bought that afternoon. It scratched under my scarf, but that didn’t matter.
All I had to do was listen.
Three days, Jake.
You honestly believed you could squeeze both of us for money before disappearing?
Ten minutes later, the performance began.
“Hey, beautiful,” Jake said, leaning across the table to kiss Alex’s cheek. “Sorry, I’m late. You look… incredible.”
Of course she does, I thought.
She’s your newest investor.
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