Chapter 5

The next day, I moved into Tania's house, where I did three things.

First, I removed myself from all the text chains and group messages of the Gorman family. Second, I contacted the bank to freeze any large transactions from my joint account until the payment was authorized. Lastly, I went to get the silver bracelet back.

Sandi was not around when I went to collect it. When the domestic help handed the bracelet to me from the drawer, I saw a faint scratch across the inscription on the inside of the bracelet. I rubbed the scratch gently with my thumb before placing it in my pocket.

While I was staying at Tania's place for the week, I found my financial analyst license, which I had obtained before I got married, from the bottom of a box. The side of the license was slightly curled, but it had not expired.

Tania contacted a financial firm in the city that she knew and found out they were hiring. The pay was not much, but it was enough for me to feed myself and rent a place. I started my job with the basics by studying the financial reports of large companies. I spend my days reading reports and performing fact-checking analysis until late at night.

The second week, Tania shared something with me after she came home from work. "Chuck went to that old jewelry store in South City to ask about replicating your silver bracelet."

I was writing when she said this, and paused while still holding the pen. Tania leaned against the doorframe and looked at me. "The old jeweller told him that the inscription inside the bracelet was hand-carved and that he couldn't replicate the exact inscription or the age of the bracelet. What he meant to say was that some broken things can never be fixed. It isn't the problem of the material, it's just that one can never turn back time."

When Tania told me this, all I did was stay silent.

In the third week, I contacted a lawyer who helped me draw up a preliminary proposal of how to divide the financial assets between Chuck and me. He flipped through the financial records, and his expression turned increasingly solemn.

"Mrs. Gorman, your joint account was used in the last three years to pay for a third party. This has grossly exceeded any obligations of financial support. If the other party is unable to prove that you have authorized these transactions in a formal document, you have the right to request your money to be returned."

I nodded, and he continued asking, "Do you plan to fight for emotional compensation over your baby?"

After giving it some thought, I shook my head. Some things cannot be valued with money.

When I walked out of the lawyer's firm, I bumped into Chuck outside the building. Sandi was standing next to him with a document in her hand. They had just walked out of the bank next door, and Chuck saw me right away. He froze when he saw the asset division document in my hand. I turned toward the bus stop.

That night, Tania told me that Chuck's assistant contacted my lawyer, and the first thing he asked was, "Is she serious?"

The lawyer replied on my behalf, and he told Chuck's assistant, "The request to freeze the joint account has been approved."

Three days later, Chuck stopped paying the rent for Sandi's condo, and he instructed the driver to move all of Sandi's belongings over to the Gormans' old mansion.

When Tania shared the news with me, she sounded unsure about everything that was happening. "He's trying to make amends."

I was busy compiling financial documents for my clients, and did not look up at her. "He isn't trying to make amends for anything. He's just doing everything he can to cut his losses."

A few days later, I received a receipt from the charity organization. According to their records, the baby products were never sold for charity, but were posted to a cousin of Sandi's who stayed out of state. The name and address of the recipient were clearly stated on the receipt.

I conducted another investigation on the records of the donated items, and I found a record of the silver bracelet being included in the list of donation items. It was returned because the daughter of Sandi's cousin could not wear it due to her baby's wrist being too thin for it.

The return date stated on the receipt was the day before I saw Sandi walk into our bedroom with the silver bracelet in her hand.

That night, I found myself tossing and turning in bed. My phone screen lit up at 2 in the morning. It was a message from Sandi's cousin, which had a picture attached to it. The picture was of a baby, a few months old, lying in her cradle while wearing the silver bracelet on her wrist.

It was not the same bracelet that belonged to my baby, but it looked very similar.

In her message, Sandi's cousin said, "Thank you for thinking of my daughter and giving this one-month-old present to her."

I enlarged the picture and saw a small card stuck to the side of the wrapping paper next to the cradle. It had Sandi's handwriting on it, wishing the baby a happy and healthy life. I turned off the screen of the phone.

Sandi had given well-wishes to another person's baby by taking my baby's things and giving them to her cousin.

When morning came, I washed my face and took a screenshot of the picture, saving it in my evidence file. It was a reminder to myself that some people's kindness was used as a tool for their own selfishness.