Part 2

Mara was thirty-four, an architect from a company Nathan had hired for a renovation. Elise had met her once at a charity dinner, when Nathan had introduced her as a colleague. Mara stood in the hallway in a raincoat, clutching a thick envelope.

“I didn't know he was still married when we met,” she told Elise. “I found out six weeks ago. He said you had separated.”

Nathan stepped between them. “This is not the time.”

“You've had six weeks,” Mara replied. “I won't keep lying for you.”

Elise noticed her hand shaking. She knew the other woman could have sent the envelope by courier, but she had come herself. “What is it?”

“Copies of a contract Nathan wanted me to sign. He told me your name was on it only because of an old tax arrangement.”

Elise opened the envelope. The top page named the apartment building her late mother had left her. The signature looked like hers, but she had never seen the contract. Beneath it was an application to borrow against the property.

She looked at Nathan. “When were you planning to tell me?”

His silence was longer than any answer. “I thought I could fix it before you noticed.”

Mara stepped away from the door. “I won't sign anything. I'm sorry.”

When the elevator closed, Elise carried the documents into the kitchen and called her attorney.