My Billionaire Husband Arrested Me for Taking His Money Chapter 06
“She killed your husband, my father!”
“Enough!”
Diane’s shout echoed through the room.
Ryan had never seen his mother so furious.
“Mom…” He looked genuinely stunned. “You’re yelling at me over the woman who killed Dad?”
“She didn’t kill your father!”
“Yes, she did!” Ryan shouted.
“Dad was only three thousand dollars short of the surgery that could’ve saved him. Lena controlled both our paychecks, but she refused to give me a penny because she wanted to spend the money on herself!”
A thick ledger struck the floor at Ryan’s feet.
Diane was breathing hard with anger.
“Read it. Take a good look at where every last dollar went.”
Ryan hesitated, then bent down and picked up the ledger.
He opened it to the first page.
[June 16, 2021.
Groceries: $348.10
Utilities: $221.50
Rent: $2,250
Mom’s emergency asthma treatment and medication: $3,180
Ryan and I brought home $4,850 combined.
Borrowed $1,200 from my best friend and $600 from a coworker to cover food and other household expenses.
Note to self: Pay them both back as soon as next month’s paychecks come in.]
Ryan turned the page.
[July 15, 2021.
Groceries, utilities, rent, transportation, household necessities, and loan payments.
We brought home $4,600 this month.
Balance: $0.
I had to borrow again.]
The next entry was dated August 15.
[Groceries, utilities, rent, household necessities, and loan payments.
We brought home $5,100 this month.
It was our anniversary today. Spent $120 on a surprise for Ryan.
Paid off everything we owed. No need to borrow this month.]
The entries that followed grew shorter.
[September 15.
Balance: $0.
Need to borrow from my best friend.]
[October 15.
Balance: $0.
Need to borrow again.]
[November 15.
Balance: $0.
Still $3,000 short for Dad’s surgery.
I still haven’t paid back the earlier loans. No one else is willing to lend us money.]
Ryan’s hands shook as he tore through the remaining pages.
[Balance: $0. Need to borrow from my best friend.]
[Balance: $0. Need to borrow from my best friend.]
[Balance: $0. Need to borrow from my best friend.]
“How is this possible?”
His eyes reddened as he slammed the ledger onto the table.
“How could the two of us have been that broke?”
Diane met her son’s anger with a cold stare.
“Because you never had to run a household.”
“You thought handing Lena your paycheck made you a wonderful husband. You never stopped to think that rent, water, electricity, heat, and groceries all cost money. Birthdays, weddings, and family emergencies cost money too.”
“My asthma medication alone cost us hundreds every month.”
Ryan couldn’t say a word.
“You knew you gave Lena your paycheck, but you never asked where it went. Not one dollar was spent on herself.”
“And you spent years patting yourself on the back for handing her that money.”
“No…” Ryan stared at the rows of figures and stumbled back two steps.
“That isn’t what happened.”
He looked toward the guest room.
“Lena…”
“Where is she?”
He spun toward the door.
“Lena, come out!”
“That’s enough!”
Diane grabbed his arm.
“If she wanted to see you, she would’ve come out already. Leave her alone.”
Ryan reached toward the guest room, but the household manager and staff held him back. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t reach the door.
Then it opened.
I stood in the doorway and met his gaze without emotion.
“Lena!”
Hope flashed across his face.
My expression remained cold.
“Leave, Ryan. Don’t come looking for me again.”
The hand he had extended toward me froze in midair. A moment later, the staff forced him out of the house.
When Ryan returned home, one member of the house staff took his coat while another brought coffee and pastries.
He didn’t touch any of it. Instead, he went straight to the household manager.
“Bring me the household accounts.”
The man hesitated before retrieving them.
“Food, utilities, property maintenance…”
Ryan studied the figures.
“Those three categories alone cost more than forty thousand dollars a month?”
He hesitated, then retrieved the account book.
“Mr. Mercer, this is a large estate with extensive grounds and gardens. We also employ twenty-one full-time staff members. These expenses are perfectly normal.”
Ryan slowly closed the account book.
“I never knew.”
The manager looked at him in confusion.
Ryan clutched my old, dog-eared ledger and stared blankly ahead.
“Mr. Mercer, Ms. Shaw is here.”
Vanessa’s arrival finally pulled him out of his daze.
“I heard you and Lena had a fight.” Vanessa gave him a sympathetic look.
“I was worried you’d be lonely, so I came to check on you.”
“I’m fine,” Ryan replied flatly.
Vanessa went into the kitchen herself. Half an hour later, she returned with enough steaming food to cover the dining table.
Ryan looked up and caught her by the wrist.
“Why did Lena lose the baby?”
Vanessa froze.
Ryan didn’t take his eyes off her.
“She wasn’t due for another month, and she only spent one night in that attic. Why did she suddenly go into premature labor?”
“You were the one supervising her dinner that night. What did she eat?”
The color drained from Vanessa’s face.