Part 3: Elaine's Receipts

Elaine sent the therapy receipts in a plain envelope. She included a note saying she had never asked Marcus to conceal the amount from me. The accountant compared the bills with the transfers and found that the payments to Elaine and her husband were consistent with the costs she described.

The separate business account remained unexplained. The accountant traced it to a company registered in Elise's name. That connection did not prove wrongdoing. It did mean we needed to ask what work the company had performed and who had approved the payments.

Rosa requested the relevant records through the attorneys. Marcus's lawyer acknowledged the request and said his client would respond. While we waited, the bank continued its review of the disputed transactions.

I had imagined that seeing Elise's name would produce a clean moment of certainty. Instead I felt tired. She might have been paid for legitimate work, misled by Marcus, or involved in a decision I had not authorized. I did not know which. I refused to turn a company registration into a verdict.

At the health center meeting, Dev showed me a prototype of the new reception desk. It had a lower section for visitors who could not stand comfortably and a private place to discuss sensitive information. The client asked whether the signs could use simpler language. We arranged a review with patients and staff before finalizing the design.

Afterward Dev asked whether I wanted to take Friday off. He had noticed that I was checking my phone between meetings.

“I might,” I said. “I don't want the team waiting for decisions.”

“Then give us a time when you'll be available. We can handle the rest.”

I agreed to check messages at noon and four. The boundary felt strange. I had built the consultancy by responding immediately to every client. Now the team needed me to trust the structure we had created together.

Elaine called again. Her husband, Robert, had another appointment scheduled, and she did not know whether the family support would continue during the separation. I told her I could not promise an amount before reviewing my finances and the legal arrangements. I offered to speak with Rosa about a temporary plan that would not leave them guessing.

Elaine thanked me. “Marcus said you had cut us off.”

“I haven't made that decision.”

“He also said the house belongs to him now.”

“The proposed settlement is unsigned.”

She was quiet. “I think we need to ask him some questions.”

Later, Rosa received a response from Marcus's attorney. Marcus claimed the payments to Elise's company were for consulting work related to my business. He supplied two invoices, both bearing an approval mark that looked like my digital signature.

I had never seen the invoices before. The accountant checked the dates against my calendar and the authorization logs we had retained. One invoice had been approved while I was on a flight without internet access. That did not establish who had used the approval, but it gave the bank a specific issue to investigate.

Rosa advised me to preserve the original records and avoid confronting Marcus directly about the mark. I wanted to call him immediately. Instead I sent the travel confirmation to the accountant and wrote down every question I wanted answered. The list was long enough to fill a page.