She nodded.
Then she looked at Mark.
“You need to tell her the rest.”
My heart sank.
“The rest?”
Mark closed his eyes.
“There is something else.”
I almost couldn’t breathe.
“What?”
He reached into his jacket.
Pulled out a folded document.
And placed it on the table.
I opened it.
It was a life insurance policy.
My name was on it.
So was the baby’s.
I looked at him.
“Why?”
Mark swallowed.
“Because I knew things were going to get complicated.”
“What does that mean?”
He didn’t answer.
I looked at Claire.
She whispered,
“He has been afraid for months.”
“Afraid of what?”
Claire looked at Mark.
“His business.”
I turned back toward him.
“What happened?”
He finally told us.
His company was drowning in debt.
The house wasn’t simply a home.
It was collateral.
The money he had been giving Claire wasn’t coming from his salary.
He had been using borrowed money.
