07 | Sean's Call

Sarah’s POV

I expected a note. Perhaps a formal apology for the way his guard had shoved me yesterday, or something about my suspension from work.

I pulled the flap open.

“Oh… my…” I muttered, my mouth falling open.

It wasn't just a note. It was a stack of clean hundred-dollar bills.

I stared at the money. I didn’t count it at first, I just stared at the bright blue strips and the face of Benjamin Franklin.

They almost looked like play money because I hadn’t seen a hundred-dollar bill in more than three years.

On top of the stack of money, there was a small folded note. I opened it carefully.

‘Sarah,

I learned you were suspended for two days. Use this money to cover your expenses. Take care.

— Adrian Vale’

I held the note in my hands and stared at the neat writing, my heart beating fast. I felt happy, confused, and shocked all at once. I almost laughed yet, I almost cried.

Slowly, with trembling fingers, I pulled the money out and began to count… one, two, five, ten, twenty—my heart pounding with every bill until I finally reached the total. Five thousand dollars.

He just gave away five thousand dollars for nothing? My hands shook as I looked at the stack of money again. I couldn’t believe it was real.

Sean usually gave me fifteen, sometimes twenty dollars at a time, acting like he was giving away a piece of his soul.

I dropped the envelope on the coffee table as if it had burned me, my heart pounding against my ribs.

“Five thousand dollars?!”

That was more than I earned in six months at Lumière House, enough to pay the rent for three months and fill the kitchen shelves with more than just flour and the last scraps from a jar of sugar.

"Mom?"

I jumped, nearly knocking the coffee table over. Ethan was standing at the bedroom door, his small face peeking out. Lily was right behind him, holding her tattered teddy bear.

"Is the man gone?" Ethan asked.

I quickly grabbed the money and stuffed it back into the envelope, hiding it under a sofa cushion. I couldn't let them see it. If they told Sean about the cash when he came back, I’d be in big trouble… or worse, he might take it.

"Yes… yes, honey. He’s gone," I said, trying to make my voice sound normal. "He just... he was delivering a package for the neighbor. He got the wrong door."

"You look like you saw a ghost," Lily said, walking over to me. She climbed onto the couch and tucked her head under my arm.

"I'm just tired, Lily. Just a little tired."

I held them both, but my mind was screaming. Why would Adrian Vale do this?

People like him didn't just give away five thousand dollars to a shop assistant they didn't know.

In my world, money always came with a price. Sean had taught me that. Every time he gave me a little extra for the kids' shoes or clothes, he made sure I spent the next week ‘earning’ it through silence and obedience.

What does Adrian Vale want from someone like me? My thoughts spiraled.

Five hours later, the kids were napping. The house was quiet, except for the hum of the old refrigerator. I sat at the kitchen table with the envelope in front of me.

Beside it sat Sean’s phone.

I felt like I was caught between two different worlds. In one world, my husband was on a private jet with a woman named Valerie, spending thousands on champagne and sun beds. In the other world, Mr. Adrian was sending his huge bodyguard to my door with a life-changing amount of cash.

I picked up Sean’s phone and stared at it. Why hadn’t he come back for it? I thought he would return for it, but he didn’t.

I knew it was dangerous, yet I couldn’t stop myself. I had to see more. I needed to know how deep the lies ran.

I swiped the screen. It was locked. I tried his birthday. Wrong. Our anniversary. Wrong. Ethan’s birthday. Wrong. Lily’s birthday. Still wrong. I felt my hands shake, and my chest tighten.

This stupid phone wouldn’t open.

I stared at the blank screen, the two missed calls from Valerie blinking at me.

Maybe I would actually need this number for some reason someday, I couldn’t really tell. But I didn’t care, I just needed it. I pulled out my phone and carefully typed in her number, then saved it.

Afterwards, I turned off Sean’s phone, shoved both phones into my pocket, and took a shaky breath, trying to calm down.

I stared at the envelope from Mr. Adrian for a moment. I couldn’t leave this money lying around in the house, so I grabbed my coat and slipped quietly out the front door.

I walked down the hall and stopped in front of Mrs. Asher’s door. My hand trembled as I raised it and knocked.

“Mrs. Asher?” I called softly.

I waited, but no one answered. I knocked again, a little harder this time, just enough to make a sound.

“Who’s there?” came Mrs. Asher’s voice from inside.

“It’s Sarah…” I replied immediately, calmly. “I really need a favor.”

I heard footsteps approaching. The door opened just a little, and Mrs. Asher peeked out, her eyes full of curiosity.

“Oh, Sarah! Is everything okay?” she asked, concern in her voice.

“I… um, I need a favor. Could you watch Ethan and Lily for just an hour? I have an emergency, just for a little while.”

Mrs. Asher studied me for a second, then nodded.

“Of course,” she said, her eyes kind. “Don’t worry about a thing. Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” I said quickly, trying to sound calm. “I just need to step out for a bit.”

“Go ahead,” Mrs. Asher said with a reassuring smile. “I’ll take care of them.”

“Thank you,” I whispered.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief and slipped past her into the hot sun, my heart racing with anticipation.

I walked three blocks to a small bank branch on the corner, not the one Sean and I shared.

“I want to open a private savings account,” I told the teller. “Only in my name. No one else can use it. Don’t send any statements to my house. I want everything online, digital.”

The teller, a young woman with kind eyes, looked at the envelope of cash. She didn’t ask where it came from. Maybe she saw the worry in my eyes.

“Okay, we can start this,” she said, handing me a clipboard and a pen. “I just need some basic info… your full name, date of birth, and ID.”

“I’m Sarah Miller,” I said, writing quickly, my hand shaking a little.

She typed something on her computer and frowned.

“Hmm… it looks like you already have an account at another branch. That’s why your request isn’t showing here.”

“Then what?” I asked, my voice tight.

I felt a little frustrated. My hands gripped the pen on the clipboard.

I just wanted this to work, to keep the money safe, and now it felt like another problem.

“We can’t open a second one right away. Sometimes it takes a few minutes, sometimes a day, to check with our main office.”

My stomach twisted. I needed this money safe now, not tomorrow.

She leaned in closer, her eyes flicking to my hands clutching the pen and the tight line of my jaw.

“Don’t worry,” she said softly, her voice gentle. “We can still make it a digital account… no statements to your house, full online access. You just need to sign this short form, but you'd have to wait seventy-two hours before you can access the money in it.”

"That's..that's fine, I will wait."

I quickly signed the form and handed it back. She typed a little more, clicked around on her computer, then smiled.

“All done, Mrs. Miller. Your account is ready. Digital only, private, just how you wanted.”

I let out a slow breath, relief and worry mixing together.

“Thanks.” I said, and walked out of the bank.

The warm sun hit my face. For the first time in years, I felt a small bit of power. I had four thousand dollars in a secret account and one thousand dollars in my pocket.

I went to the grocery store, bought expensive milk, three jars of sugar, fresh fruit, steak, and the chocolate cereal Ethan always begged for, feeling like a spy as I hid the ‘good’ food at the bottom of the bags.

As I walked home, carrying the heavy bags, I hummed a little tune under my breath, then broke into a quiet, silly song about pancakes and chocolate cereal. It was funny though.

My feet tapped faster on the pavement, and I couldn’t help grinning at the thought of Ethan’s eyes when he’d see the chocolate.

I got home at exactly 4 p.m and the house was quiet, the kids weren’t there anymore.

Mrs. Asher had them like she always did whenever I asked her to watch them, so I set the heavy bags down and started putting the groceries away quickly.

I hid the expensive foods, at the back of the cabinets, behind the old cans of beans, making sure nothing showed. I put Ethan’s chocolate cereal into a plain plastic container so it looked normal.

Just as I was about to grab my coat and head to Mrs. Asher’s to bring the kids back, my phone rang, making me flinch.

The number wasn’t saved. I hesitated, then pressed answer.

“Sarah.”

Sean’s voice.