Chapter 5 - THE BLUE ENVELOPE
I woke beneath fluorescent lights furious enough to argue with the nurse.
“I need my phone.”
“You need to lie still.”
“My father-in-law stole something.”
“And you nearly reopened your incision.”
That shut me up for almost six seconds.
The bleeding turned out to be less catastrophic than it looked, but the strain had caused complications around the surgical site. My doctor ordered overnight observation, medication, and strict rest.
Grace remained with me.
My sister, Claire, arrived an hour later after Caleb finally called her.
She walked into my room, kissed my forehead, checked Grace, and then turned toward my husband.
“What did you do?”
Caleb didn’t defend himself.
That scared me more than excuses would have.
He sat in the corner with his elbows on his knees.
“I failed her.”
“Yes,” Claire said.
I almost told her to ease up.
Then I remembered the karaoke.
I let her continue.
By midnight, most relatives had checked into nearby hotels.
Melissa had refunded several people personally and promised to pursue Ron for the money.
Ron had disappeared.
Sherry claimed she didn’t know where he went.
I didn’t believe her.
“Where’s the forged document?” I asked.
“With me.”
Caleb opened his backpack.
He had taken the entire briefcase.
For two hours, Claire photographed every paper.
That was when we discovered the rental income was larger than we thought.
Ron had collected almost $17,000 over three months.
Some payments were marked with my address.
Others carried descriptions like:
BAILEY PROPERTY PROJECT.
“What project?” I asked.
Caleb stared at one receipt.
“I don’t know.”
Claire searched the briefcase again.
“There’s no blue envelope.”
I told them what I had seen.
Caleb immediately called his mother.
She answered on the fifth ring.
“Where is Dad?”
Silence.
“Mom.”
“He’s upset.”
“He forged Erin’s signature.”
More silence.
Then Sherry whispered something I couldn’t hear.
Caleb stood.
“What did you say?”
His face changed.
“Mom, what property?”
I pushed myself higher against the pillows.
Caleb listened for almost a minute.
Then ended the call.
“What?”
He looked at me.
“My parents put a deposit on a lake house.”
I waited.
He swallowed.
“Dad told Mom you and I were buying half of it.”
“We are not.”
“I know.”
“With what money?”
Caleb stared at the receipts.
“I think that’s what was in the blue envelope.”
Claire’s phone suddenly chimed.
She had been searching county property records.
She turned the screen toward me.
A purchase application had been filed nine days earlier.
The buyers were Ronald and Sherry Bailey—
with Caleb Bailey listed as financial guarantor.
May you like
But the income statement attached to the application wasn’t Caleb’s.
It was mine.
