Chapter 1: The Night I Came Home
On New Year's Eve, I Came Home Early to Surprise My Family and Found My Recently Operated Wife Alone, Eating Cold Instant Noodles.
"Please Don't Call Your Mother," She Begged Me.
I Didn't Argue.
I Photographed the Empty Refrigerator, Checked the 280,000 Dollars That Had Disappeared, and Discovered Who Was Celebrating With Our Money.
"Where are my wife and my son?" I asked as I stepped through the door, but the only answer was the faint cry of a newborn coming from the kitchen.
It was almost 11:30 p.m.
on December 31.
I was supposed to remain in Zurich, Switzerland, inspecting industrial machinery until the first week of January.
Instead, I changed my flight, paid a fortune, and returned to Minneapolis without telling anyone.
I wanted to surprise Nora, my wife, who had given birth by C-section 11 days earlier, and hold our son, Liam, for the first time.
In my suitcase, I had brought thermal clothes for the baby, creams for Nora, chocolates for my mother, and an expensive perfume for Chloe.
I still believed everyone deserved a gift.
The apartment in the Edina neighborhood was dark, freezing, and showed no sign of a New Year's Eve dinner.
There were no treats, punch, or leftovers.
In the living room, I saw used diapers, an open can of formula, and empty glasses.
I walked toward the kitchen and felt the floor disappear beneath my feet.
Nora was curled up on a plastic chair, wearing a thin pajama set and an old sweater.
Her face was gray, her lips were cracked, and one hand was pressed against her C-section wound.
The fabric was stained with bl00d.
In front of her was a cup of cold instant noodles, so swollen it looked like paste.
Liam was crying inside a bassinet, wrapped in a blanket that was far too thin.
"Spencer...
why did you come back?" Nora whispered, trying to stand.
"Go get some rest.
I'll make you something in a minute."
Her legs gave out.
I caught her before she hit the floor.
"Where are my mother, Chloe, and Brandon?
Where is all the food I bought?
I sent them twelve thousand dollars to take care of you."
Nora lowered her eyes.
"They went to Miami for a few days.
I only wanted soup.
Please don't make a problem.
Your mother says a woman who's just had surgery should eat very little to 'cleanse herself.'"
I opened the refrigerator.
It was empty.
The trays of salmon, meat, broth, fruit, milk, supplements, and even Liam's imported formula were gone.
On the refrigerator door, I found a note written by my mother, Martha:
"We went to spend New Year's in South Beach with Chloe, Brandon, Toby, and his family.
Manage with whatever you have.
Don't call Spencer to play the victim.
He's working for all of you."
Nora grabbed my arm, terrified.
"Don't confront her.
She's going to say I turned you against her."
I didn't scream.
The anger was already too overwhelming to turn into noise.
I photographed the empty refrigerator, the soup, the note, and the bl00d.
Then I wrapped Liam in my coat and carried Nora.
In the taxi to the hospital, while fireworks lit up the highway, my wife trembled with fever.
Before putting my phone away, I blocked every additional card that my mother, my sister, and Brandon had been using in my name.
At that very moment, they were sleeping at a luxury resort, convinced that my money was endless.
They had no idea what was about to happen at sunrise…
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Nora was burning with fever while they were dancing in Miami with Spencer's money.
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What do you think he should do to Martha, Chloe, and Brandon?
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