Chapter 5 - The Financial Bleeding
Natalie stared down at the manila folder as if it were a venomous snake coil resting on the mattress. She didn't touch it. She didn't need to; the bold emblem of our primary bank stamped across the tab told her everything she needed to know.
“What… what is this?” she whispered, her voice shaking so badly she could barely form the syllables.
“Open it,” I instructed, pulling a chair away from the vanity desk and sitting down directly across from the bed, crossing my legs with infuriating calm. “Go ahead. Review your own work.”
With trembling fingers, Natalie flipped open the folder. The top pages were itemized bank statements spanning the last four months—the exact duration of my deployment.
I watched her eyes scan the rows of numbers, tracking the precise moment her face morphed from panic into absolute, unadulterated horror.
“You’ve been busy,” I said evenly, resting my elbows on my knees. “Fourteen thousand dollars transferred out of our joint savings into a private account in your maiden name. Seven thousand charged to our home equity line of credit for a luxury vacation package to the Bahamas that you took with Derek while Emily and Evan were staying with your mother. And let’s not forget the boutique shopping sprees, dining tabs, and luxury hotel stays scattered across three different counties.”
“I… I needed things!” Natalie choked out, tears spilling freely down her cheeks now as she clutched the papers to her chest. “You were gone! You were always gone, risking your life for a military that doesn't care about you while I was left here alone to raise the kids and manage the house! I was stressed, Mark! I needed an outlet!”
“An outlet?” I repeated, letting out a short, humorless laugh that lacked any warmth. “You didn't just look for an outlet, Natalie. You systematically dismantled every asset we built together to fund a lifestyle for a revolving door of men, while our fifteen-year-old daughter sat locked in her bedroom with headphones on to drown out the sound of your betrayal.”
Natalie froze. The color drained from her face a second time. “E-Emily…?”
“Yes, Emily,” I said, my voice dropping an octave into a cold, lethal register. “Emily knew everything. She watched you do it. She was the one who had to protect her little brother from your filth while you played house with strangers in the bed we bought together.”
“Mark, please… I’ll fix it! We can go to counseling! I’ll break it off with Derek, I’ll return the money—!”
“You can’t return what you’ve already spent, Natalie. And you certainly can't fix what you deliberately shattered.” I stood up from the chair, sliding my hands into my pockets. “When I left for this deployment, I gave you my trust, my paycheck, and my family. You traded all three away for temporary comfort.”
May you like
I turned toward the door, pausing with my hand on the frame.
“Marcus is downstairs with the kids,” I told her without looking back. “My lawyer will be serving you divorce papers and asset-freeze injunctions by noon today. I suggest you start packing your bags, because by the time the sun sets, this house will be completely empty of you.”
