Chapter 1 - THE HOTEL ROOM
The silence in the bank manager's office was deafening. I stared at the forged signature until the loops and curves blurred. Forty-one years of marriage, reduced to a sloppy imitation of my handwriting in blue ink.
Detective Vance, a burly man with tired eyes, broke the silence. "Mr. Pendelton, we're going to need to freeze everything. But you need to understand—if your wife and her sister did this, going home is not an option tonight."
"He's not going home," Sarah said instantly. My daughter-in-law hadn't let go of my arm since we left the dining room. "He’s coming with me."
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Then again. And again. I pulled it out. 14 Missed Calls from Martha. Text from Martha: Arthur, where are you? Eric is worried sick! You can't just run out on our anniversary dinner. Come home NOW.
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I felt a wave of nausea. She was still playing the devoted wife, even as the ink dried on her betrayal. Sarah drove us to a Marriott two towns over, paying in cash so it couldn't be tracked. Sitting on the edge of that stiff hotel bed, the reality crashed over me. I was sixty-eight, locked out of my own life, hiding from the woman who had kissed my cheek just three hours ago.
Sarah handed me a glass of water. "Dad, we're going to get it back. Every red cent. But tomorrow, we go to war."
