Chapter 5 - The Desperate Visitor
Three days later, I was standing in the kitchen of our home, preparing lunch while Daniel worked in his home study.
The front doorbell rang.
I walked to the entry hall and looked through the glass side-panel. Standing on my porch was the last person I expected to see: Brenda Finch.
She looked entirely different from the polished woman in the red dress at the wedding. Her hair was pulled back in a messy knot, her designer makeup was minimal, and her hands were trembling as she clutched a leather folder.
I opened the door, keeping the screen door latched. "Brenda."
"Nora... please," Brenda begged, her voice cracking with desperation. "I need five minutes. Please. I don't know who else to go to."
I hesitated, looking at the genuine terror in her eyes. "Where is Gavin?"
"He doesn't know I’m here," she stammered, fresh tears pooling in her eyes. "Nora, please... he lied to me. He lied to my family. He’s going to ruin us."
I unlatched the screen door and stepped back. "Come in."
Brenda walked into our high-ceilinged living room, her eyes darting around the elegant artwork, warm family photos of Daniel, Lily, and me, and the peaceful atmosphere of our home. It was the kind of life Gavin had promised her, but could never build.
She sat on the edge of the sofa, placing the leather folder on the coffee table.
"He used my father, Nora," Brenda sobbed, burying her face in her hands. "Five years ago, when he left you, he told me that you were holding him back, that you were controlling his finances. I believed him. God help me, I believed everything he said."
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"Why are you here, Brenda?" I asked calmly, sitting in the armchair opposite her.
Brenda pushed the folder toward me. "These are Albright Logistics’ internal ledgers. Gavin has been hiding two million dollars in shadow debt. He took out a personal loan in my name last year without my knowledge—he forged my signature."
